Meetings going really easy? Uh oh…

Have you ever been in a meeting and thought, “Wow, this is easy. It’s so quiet in here.”

Stop – That’s a bad sign.

As Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team points out, a quiet, boring meeting is a pretty clear indicator that your team is not engaging in productive conflict around ideas and opinions.

Consensus is not required for a team to commit—and you shouldn’t get stuck in trying to achieve consensus to accept decisions. That said, the kind of loud, messy discussions that happen as a team tries to reach agreement are a sign of a healthy team.

So congratulations to those of you who have interesting meetings. You have “entered the danger,” as Lencioni terms it. On the other side? Better group decisions and superior results for your organization.

For a great read on groupthink vs. consensus, click here.

mm

Gwen Voelpel

Gwen Voelpel has 20 years of experience in coaching and mentoring leaders at all levels of organizations. She has an undergraduate degree in communications, a graduate degree in public administration, and has served as an executive leader in several organizations. Gwen is an accredited Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team and Everything DiSC Workplace Facilitator and a Certified Master in Training for The Leadership Challenge.
Posted in