Bored in the boardroom? Then get some drama going

You know those pesky forwarded e-mail messages you receive in abundance every day? Some are meant to be funny, although most don't even come close.

One day I received a rather interesting one. It was about office politics, and it offered this one helpful hint: if you're stumped and don't know what to do (or just plain lazy), just call a meeting. You'll have others who will gladly, if not eagerly, propose suggestions to end your predicament.

Do meetings really resolve anything? Or are they a waste of time? After all, meetings can be very tedious and long. Remember the last meeting you had. Did you see genuinely interested faces or glazed expressions, only alert when the trusty mobile (in silence mode, of course) notifies its owner of an incoming SMS, probably from that sales guy sitting in front?

What about the person who diligently made notes? Are you sure that's what he was doing? Naturally, none of these can compare with the members of the House of Representatives who unabashedly sleep throughout any meeting.

Attending a meeting sometimes evokes a feeling of deja vu. It's like being transported to your university days, attending a lecture. Too many people, people passing personal notes, only a few paying attention and the lecturer just keeps jabbering away in a one-way conversation, regardless. No wonder a lot of people dread meetings.

Meetings usually involve a lot of waiting around; either somebody's late or a gadget doesn't work. I've had several clients who kept us waiting for -- literally -- hours and did not have the decency to apologize later on (one even decided to cut the meeting short because she couldn't be bothered to come home late).

I've even been to a couple where the materials that were to be presented were left behind. Not nice, and so very awkward.

And what about when you grit your teeth and attend the meeting anyway even when you're pressed by a deadline, but other people seem to joke around and wander off topic for hours on end? Worse, sometimes after sitting in a meeting for hours, you still don't have a clue if a resolution has been reached.

According to Patrick Lencioni, president of a U.S. management consulting firm, meetings are boring because they lack drama and/or conflict. In order to have a successful meeting, "get people hooked in those first 10 minutes, then mine for ideological conflict, and drive it to conclusion".

Most meetings have plenty of potential for drama (essential for keeping people engaged!). A common mistake by most leaders of meetings is that they seem to be focused on avoiding tension and ending their meetings on time. Instead, they should "look for legitimate reasons to provoke and uncover relevant, constructive ideological conflict to keep people engaged which leads to more passionate discussions, and therefore better decisions."

He also mentioned that meetings are ineffective because they lack contextual structure. He suggests multiple types of meetings (hold that collective groan!) and clearly distinguish between the various purposes, formats and timing of those meetings.

No harm in trying it out, you know. And turn off that mobile, please.