As the meeting progresses, you want to keep the discussion going. Take on different roles to help tease out ideas, leading to more effective meetings.
Here are some terms for roles you can play as you lead a meeting. Match them to their definitions.
| Roles | Definitions |
|---|---|
| 1) Gatekeeper | a) Someone who can use humor to set the tone and be collegial. |
| 2) Devil's Advocate | b) Someone who ensures everyone stays on track and on time. |
| 3) Consensus builder | c) Someone who will advocate and support other members' ideas |
| 4) Cheerleader | d) Someone who can detect conflict or disagreement and help reach an agreement. |
| 5) Joker | e) Someone who can take an oppositional or different point of view to the group to encourage debate and deeper thought. |
Discuss with your teacher:
- Which role do you default to most naturally in a meeting?
- Which role do you need to or want to work on?
Participation and productivity are key and these sentence starters can be used to support positive communication. Listen to your teacher read a scenario and practice asking the questions and using the sentence starters below.
Questioning and soliciting
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What has led us to this conclusion?
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What evidence do we have?
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What do you think about this?
Clarifying and elaborating
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Am I right in thinking…
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What I hear you saying is...
Critiquing
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This is a good idea because…
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What we need to consider is…
Predicting
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I wonder what would happen if…
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How might this affect…
Advocating
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I agree with ________ in terms of…
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My idea builds on...
Read the following:
- After the Operations team's rant, the Marketing team has come up with more realistic objectives. Your teacher will play then role of Marketing Lead.
- Now that you're hearing that there's a consensus, play cheerleader to encourage.
- 20 minutes later, you worry about whether or not the team has thought of all possibilities. Play devil's advocate about the idea.
As you have now learnt, bringing people together and sharing different opinions and perspectives is crucial to ensure a healthy team culture. Robust yet respectful debate is to be encouraged.
What approach or strategy resonated with you and your values? What is one new tactic you are going to try and why?