最新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，一次糟糕會(huì)議的不良影響可以讓與會(huì)者持續(xù)抱怨好幾個(gè)小時(shí)。這種現(xiàn)象被稱(chēng)為“會(huì)議修復(fù)綜合征”。最后，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者繼續(xù)召開(kāi)低效會(huì)議，并未做到人盡其用，最終可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致團(tuán)隊(duì)成員離職，自身的權(quán)力和影響力被削弱。? ? ? ?

戴維是美國(guó)一家大銀行的高級(jí)副總裁，也是一位能干的“面對(duì)面”風(fēng)格管理者。然而360度反饋顯示，他在“組織高效會(huì)議”這一關(guān)鍵指標(biāo)上表現(xiàn)不佳。多名員工稱(chēng)他的會(huì)議“是一種煎熬”。他們抱怨他開(kāi)會(huì)過(guò)于頻繁，縱容少數(shù)人主導(dǎo)對(duì)話(huà)，并且沒(méi)能創(chuàng)造讓參會(huì)者真正碰撞觀(guān)點(diǎn)、進(jìn)行批判性思維的氛圍。這些評(píng)論令戴維始料未及。他認(rèn)為自己很擅長(zhǎng)組織會(huì)議，至少和多數(shù)同僚相比是這樣。

Dave, a senior VP at a large U.S. bank, was a strong one-on-one manager. However, 360-degree feedback revealed that he struggled in one critical area: leading effective meetings. Multiple employees described his meetings as “a time suck.” They complained that he asked them to meet too often, allowed a few people to dominate conversations, and failed to create an environment where attendees really wrestled with ideas and engaged in critical thinking. These comments took Dave by complete surprise. He’d thought he was doing a good job with meetings—Better than most of his peers, anyway.

戴維并不是第一個(gè)高估自己這方面能力的管理者。研究表明，每周高管花在會(huì)議上的23個(gè)小時(shí)中，平均有8個(gè)小時(shí)沒(méi)有成效。大約90％的人承認(rèn)在會(huì)議中做白日夢(mèng)，73％的人承認(rèn)他們利用會(huì)議時(shí)間做其他工作。然而，我自己和他人的研究表明，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者始終對(duì)自己的會(huì)議評(píng)價(jià)頗高，與其他參會(huì)者的評(píng)價(jià)相比尤甚。例如，對(duì)1300多名管理者進(jìn)行的電話(huà)訪(fǎng)問(wèn)顯示，79％的人表示他們發(fā)起的會(huì)議極其或非常富有成效，但只有56％的人認(rèn)為他人發(fā)起的會(huì)議同等高效。該結(jié)果清晰地證明了“問(wèn)題沒(méi)出在我身上”的態(tài)度。其他研究揭示了個(gè)中原因：在與北京大學(xué)童佳瑾（Jiajin Tong）合作的一項(xiàng)研究中，我發(fā)現(xiàn)最活躍的參會(huì)者是那些認(rèn)為會(huì)議最有效和最令人滿(mǎn)意的人。最活躍的人是誰(shuí)？正是組織會(huì)議的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。

Dave is not the first manager to overestimate his abilities in this area.?Research suggests?that of the 23 hours that executives spend in meetings each week, on average, eight are unproductive. Some 90% of people report daydreaming in meetings, and 73% admit that they use meeting time to do other work. And yet?research by myself and others?shows that leaders consistently rate their own meetings very favorably—and much more positively than attendees do. For instance, a telephone survey of more than 1,300 managers found that while 79% of them said that meetings they initiated were extremely or very productive, only 56% said the same about meetings initiated by others—clear evidence of an “I’m not the problem” attitude. Additional research provides insight into why: In a study with Jiajin Tong of Peking University, I found that the attendees who are the most active are the ones who feel that meetings are the most effective and satisfying. And who typically talks the most? The leader.

當(dāng)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者認(rèn)為他們的會(huì)議進(jìn)展順利時(shí)，就不太愿意征求反饋并尋求改進(jìn)機(jī)會(huì)。因此，與會(huì)者在調(diào)查中抱怨的不相關(guān)議程、會(huì)議時(shí)間過(guò)長(zhǎng)、缺乏重點(diǎn)等問(wèn)題持續(xù)存在，導(dǎo)致他們心懷不滿(mǎn)，并影響他們的敬業(yè)度。此外，會(huì)議還付出了高昂的相關(guān)成本。除了實(shí)際浪費(fèi)的時(shí)間，僅在美國(guó)，每年會(huì)議支出超過(guò)了300億美元。這還不包括員工本可以用來(lái)完成更重要、更創(chuàng)新或更有成效任務(wù)所付出的機(jī)會(huì)成本。而員工敬業(yè)度降低，會(huì)導(dǎo)致績(jī)效、創(chuàng)新、服務(wù)受損，并影響他們幫助別人的熱情和團(tuán)隊(duì)精神。

When leaders assume that their meetings are going well, they are less apt to solicit feedback and seek opportunities to improve. As a result, frustrations that attendees commonly cite in surveys (such as irrelevant agenda items, overly long duration, lack of focus) persist, leaving them disgruntled and disengaged. And the associated costs are significant. Apart from the actual time wasted—estimated to be more than $30 billion a year in the?United States alone—there are opportunity costs of employees’ not working on more important, inspiring, or revenue-generating tasks. Reduced engagement has been shown to diminish everything from performance and innovation to service delivery, helping others, and teamwork.?

最新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，一次糟糕會(huì)議的不良影響可以讓與會(huì)者持續(xù)抱怨好幾個(gè)小時(shí)。這種現(xiàn)象被稱(chēng)為“會(huì)議修復(fù)綜合征”。最后，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者繼續(xù)召開(kāi)低效會(huì)議，并未做到人盡其用，最終可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致團(tuán)隊(duì)成員離職，自身的權(quán)力和影響力被削弱。

One recent study found that the effects of a bad meeting can linger for hours in the form of attendee grousing and complaining—a phenomenon dubbed “meeting recovery syndrome.” Finally, leaders who continue to run ineffective meetings, thereby failing to make the best use of the talent around them, might eventually see attrition on their teams and an erosion of their power and influence.

當(dāng)這些后果被指出時(shí)，管理者往往都會(huì)有宣布取消所有會(huì)議的沖動(dòng)。然而，盡管對(duì)大多數(shù)組織而言，削減會(huì)議數(shù)量并非難事，但“零會(huì)議”政策并不現(xiàn)實(shí)，而且適得其反。會(huì)議可以有效地匯集想法和意見(jiàn)，并鼓勵(lì)員工在工作中的協(xié)同與合作。會(huì)議還能讓個(gè)人形成更具適應(yīng)性、復(fù)原力和能夠自我引導(dǎo)的協(xié)調(diào)整體，在危機(jī)時(shí)期尤為如此。也許最重要的一點(diǎn)是：會(huì)議有助于建立和促進(jìn)共識(shí)，從而成為集體能量與活力的焦點(diǎn)。

When consequences such as these are pointed out, a common impulse is to decree that all meetings should be eliminated. However, although most organizations have meetings that could easily be cut, a no-meetings policy is unrealistic and counterproductive. Meetings can efficiently bring together ideas and opinions and allow people to do their jobs in a more coordinated and cooperative manner. They help individuals form a coherent whole that is more adaptive, resilient, and self-directing, especially in times of crisis. Perhaps most important, meetings help establish and promote consensus, thus serving as a focal point for collective drive and energy.

因此，取消所有會(huì)議不是我們的目的，而是要消除無(wú)效或不必要的會(huì)議，并提高所保留會(huì)議的質(zhì)量。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者需要了解他們?cè)跁?huì)議中的優(yōu)點(diǎn)和缺點(diǎn)，但大多數(shù)組織很少有舉措來(lái)提高管理者這方面的自我認(rèn)知。在參加一次大型人力資源會(huì)議時(shí)，我詢(xún)問(wèn)與會(huì)高管（其中許多人來(lái)自《財(cái)富》500強(qiáng)企業(yè)），他們中有多少人在員工敬業(yè)度調(diào)查中設(shè)計(jì)了有關(guān)會(huì)議效率的問(wèn)題，或收集了關(guān)于會(huì)議領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的360度反饋？結(jié)果沒(méi)有一個(gè)人舉手。在審視許多頂級(jí)公司的入職培訓(xùn)、領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力培養(yǎng)和高潛力項(xiàng)目時(shí)，我發(fā)現(xiàn)盡是些“如何”類(lèi)書(shū)籍里的陳詞濫調(diào)（例如，不要忘記設(shè)置議程）。一項(xiàng)研究表明，盡管現(xiàn)如今會(huì)議盛行，但75％的受訪(fǎng)者從未接受過(guò)如何組織或參加會(huì)議的正式培訓(xùn)。

So the goal should be not to kill all meetings but to eliminate the ineffective or unnecessary ones and improve the quality of those that remain. To do this, leaders need to understand what they do well and not so well in meetings, but most organizations do little to promote self-awareness in this area. While presenting at a large HR conference, I asked the executives in attendance (many of them from?Fortune?500 companies) how many included questions about meeting effectiveness in their employee engagement surveys or gathered 360-degree feedback about meeting leadership. Not one hand went up. In examining onboarding, leadership development, and high-potential programs across many top organizations, I’ve found little content on meeting best practices beyond the banal advice you’d see in any “how to” book (for example, don’t forget to have an agenda).?One study?found that despite the prevalence of meetings today, 75% of those surveyed had received no formal training in how to conduct or participate in them.

通過(guò)客觀(guān)評(píng)估做出積極的改變并提高自己的會(huì)議技巧，是管理者的職責(zé)所在。以下是具體方法。

It’s therefore up to managers to make positive changes by objectively assessing and improving their own meeting skills. Here’s how.

評(píng)估過(guò)往表現(xiàn)

提高會(huì)議領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力，需要領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者能更好地審視自己。每次會(huì)議后，你不妨花幾分鐘進(jìn)行反思，想想與會(huì)者的行為、對(duì)話(huà)互動(dòng)，以及談到的內(nèi)容。你可以問(wèn)自己以下問(wèn)題：人們分心了嗎？是否在私下交談了？想想誰(shuí)說(shuō)得最多。是你嗎，還是有另外一兩個(gè)人？討論是否偏題了？表達(dá)的所有意見(jiàn)和想法是否比較相似？如果你對(duì)部分或全部問(wèn)題的回答為“是”，那就出問(wèn)題了。同樣重要的是要注意會(huì)議的積極方面，比如全員都出席了，以及進(jìn)行了有意義的辯論。激勵(lì)人們的要素有哪些？在未來(lái)的會(huì)議中，你如何做才能提高員工參與度？

Assessment

Better meeting leadership requires Better self-observation. Take a few minutes after each meeting you run to reflect. Think about attendee behavior, conversational dynamics, and the content that was covered. Ask yourself: Were people distracted? Conducting side conversations? Consider who did most of the talking. Was it you? One or two other people? Did the discussion stray to irrelevant topics? Were all the opinions and ideas that were expressed fairly similar? If you answer yes to some or all of these questions, there’s a problem. It’s also important to note the positive aspects of your meetings, such as full participation and healthy debate. What seemed to energize people? What could you do in future meetings to encourage that kind of engagement?

除了這些例行檢查外，你還要定期聽(tīng)取參會(huì)者的意見(jiàn)。征求意見(jiàn)可以面對(duì)面進(jìn)行，但一定要強(qiáng)調(diào)你需要坦誠(chéng)的反饋，也可以使用技術(shù)來(lái)評(píng)估參與者的態(tài)度。例如，為了跟進(jìn)360度評(píng)估，戴維進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)包括三個(gè)問(wèn)題的在線(xiàn)調(diào)查，詢(xún)問(wèn)同僚和直接下屬他在會(huì)議中的優(yōu)點(diǎn)和需要改進(jìn)之處，以及大家對(duì)會(huì)議的建議。

In addition to these routine scans, check in periodically with people who attend your meetings. You can do this face-to-face, making sure to emphasize that you truly want candid feedback, or you can use technology to gauge participants’ attitudes. For instance, as a follow-up to his 360, Dave conducted a three-question online survey to ask his peers and direct reports what was working well in his meetings, what needed improvement, and what suggestions folks had.

一旦你進(jìn)行了反思，并征求了其他人的反饋，就能發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的主要優(yōu)劣勢(shì)，并制定改進(jìn)計(jì)劃。就我的咨詢(xún)經(jīng)驗(yàn)而言，我發(fā)現(xiàn)將重點(diǎn)放在兩方面最有效：做好準(zhǔn)備和提高參會(huì)積極性。

Once you’ve reflected on your own and solicited feedback from others, identify your key strengths and weaknesses and create a plan for improvement. In my consulting, I’ve found it useful to focus on two areas: preparation and facilitation.

做好準(zhǔn)備

我們中很少有人會(huì)質(zhì)疑這一觀(guān)念：寫(xiě)報(bào)告、處理客戶(hù)事務(wù)，以及很多其他商業(yè)活動(dòng)都需要思考和規(guī)劃，哪怕只花幾分鐘都有用。但在開(kāi)會(huì)時(shí)，人們經(jīng)常忽略這種最佳實(shí)踐。特別是定期的例會(huì)，很容易流于形式，墨守成規(guī)。但是當(dāng)你占用別人時(shí)間的時(shí)候，你理應(yīng)適度進(jìn)行“前期投入”。

Preparation

Few of us would question the notion that presentations, client work, and many other business activities require thought and planning, even if it’s just a few minutes’ worth. But people routinely ignore this best practice when it comes to meetings. Especially with regularly scheduled ones, it’s easy to simply show up and default to the usual way of doing things. But when you’re a steward of others’ time, you owe it to them to make some modest upfront investment.

召開(kāi)會(huì)議前，你要強(qiáng)迫自己做出慎重選擇。首先，明確召開(kāi)會(huì)議的原因，并確定目標(biāo)，為實(shí)現(xiàn)這些目標(biāo)奠定基礎(chǔ)。該過(guò)程可能包括要求其他人對(duì)議程設(shè)置提出建議。這樣做不僅開(kāi)會(huì)不容易跑題，還能提高人們的責(zé)任感和參與度。如果你沒(méi)有明確的任務(wù)或議程表，最好就不要開(kāi)會(huì)。

Before you hold a meeting, force yourself to make deliberate choices. First, know exactly why you’re convening and define your goals to set the stage for achieving them. This process may include asking others to suggest agenda items, which not only promotes relevance but also increases ownership and engagement. If you don’t have a clear mission or a list of agenda items, you should probably cancel.

一旦你知道為什么要開(kāi)會(huì)，就需要決定能配合自己的參會(huì)者。與會(huì)者太多，會(huì)導(dǎo)致人多嘴雜或渾水摸魚(yú)（即社會(huì)懈怠social loafing，指?jìng)€(gè)人在“群體”掩護(hù)下減少努力的行為），更不必說(shuō)后勤上的挑戰(zhàn)了。但你也不能邀請(qǐng)?zhí)偃顺鱿?，?dǎo)致必要的人缺席，或者讓其他人感到被輕視。要找到平衡點(diǎn)，就必須慎重考慮關(guān)鍵決策者、影響者和利益相關(guān)者。你可以在會(huì)前詢(xún)問(wèn)“局外人”的意見(jiàn)，并向他們承諾分享他們的意見(jiàn)，并及時(shí)向他們更新進(jìn)展，確保他們不會(huì)感到被孤立。你也可以考慮設(shè)置定時(shí)議程，讓與會(huì)者僅參加與他們相關(guān)的部分。

Once you know why you’re meeting, decide who needs to be there to help you. Too many attendees can lead to a cacophony of voices or social loafing (whereby individuals scale back their efforts under the protection of a “crowd”), not to mention logistical challenges. That said, you don’t want to pare the invite list down so much that necessary people aren’t there or others end up feeling slighted. To find the right balance, think carefully about key decision makers, influencers, and stakeholders. Make sure that those outside the circle feel included, by asking for their input before the meeting and promising to share it and keep them in the loop. You might also consider a timed agenda, in which attendees join only the portions of the meeting pertinent to them.

接下來(lái)的關(guān)注重點(diǎn)是時(shí)間和地點(diǎn)。在同樣的會(huì)議室、同樣的時(shí)間以及同樣的布置下開(kāi)會(huì)，是人的本性。但這些習(xí)慣可能會(huì)令人麻木。你不妨創(chuàng)造新鮮感：比如選擇不同的會(huì)場(chǎng)，在早上而非下午開(kāi)會(huì)，調(diào)整會(huì)議時(shí)長(zhǎng)（例如50分鐘而非一小時(shí)），或改變座位安排，讓每個(gè)人的鄰座和對(duì)面都是新認(rèn)識(shí)的同事。如果只有2-4人開(kāi)會(huì)，不妨建議邊走邊聊。對(duì)于較大的團(tuán)體，可以嘗試站會(huì)——站會(huì)被證明可以提高會(huì)議效率和與會(huì)者滿(mǎn)意度，但前提是會(huì)議時(shí)間很短（約15分鐘），防止人們產(chǎn)生不適感。

Next, focus on time and place. It’s human nature to stick to the same room, same hour, and same general setup. But those routines can cause people to glaze over. Instead, find ways to introduce variety: Move to a different venue, meet in the morning instead of the afternoon, experiment with nontraditional time blocks (such as 50 minutes instead of an hour), or change the seating arrangements so that everyone is next to and across from different colleagues. For groups of two to four people, you might suggest a walking meeting. For larger groups,?try standing,?which has been shown to boost meeting efficiency and attendee satisfaction—provided the sessions are kept short (15 minutes or so) to prevent discomfort.

對(duì)于特別重要的會(huì)議，你的準(zhǔn)備應(yīng)該更加周到。你可以嘗試“預(yù)先檢驗(yàn)”的方法（也稱(chēng)為前瞻性后見(jiàn)之明）。你可以設(shè)想如果會(huì)議失敗，反過(guò)來(lái)思考原因是什么。這樣你計(jì)劃會(huì)議的時(shí)候，就可以避免或減少問(wèn)題的發(fā)生。

For high-stakes meetings, your preparation should go even further. Try having a “premortem” (also known as prospective hindsight), which involves imagining that the meeting has failed and working backward to ascertain why. Then plan the meeting in a way that avoids or mitigates those problems.

戴維的一大問(wèn)題是，無(wú)論值不值得開(kāi)會(huì)，每周組織的會(huì)議都太過(guò)頻繁。這已經(jīng)成了他的習(xí)慣，而不是出于真正的需要。所以他把會(huì)議頻率調(diào)低到隔周一次，在不開(kāi)會(huì)的那一周，設(shè)置“魔術(shù)時(shí)間”。 在這段空白時(shí)間內(nèi)，每位團(tuán)隊(duì)成員可以選擇埋頭工作，或者就新出現(xiàn)的緊急狀況召集臨時(shí)會(huì)議。這樣一來(lái)，會(huì)議數(shù)量減少，質(zhì)量提高。盡管如此，戴維還有更多的工作要做：提高參會(huì)積極性。

Dave’s big issue was that he held too many recurring weekly meetings that hAppened whether he had a compelling agenda or not. He held them out of habit rather than necessity. So he changed the cadence to every other week, and in the off weeks created something he called “magic time”—a slot that everyone on the team agreed to keep empty for either heads-down work or an impromptu meeting should an urgent issue surface. This significantly reduced the quantity of meetings, while also improving the quality of those that were held. Still, Dave had more work to do: improving his meeting facilitation.

提高參會(huì)積極性

從與會(huì)者走進(jìn)會(huì)議室的一刻起，你就該關(guān)注他們的積極性。因?yàn)槿藗兘?jīng)常將會(huì)議視為一種打擾，要被迫停下手頭“真正的工作”，所以領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的首要任務(wù)是提升與會(huì)者的存在感。有幾種方法可以做到這一點(diǎn)：在門(mén)口問(wèn)候與會(huì)者，表達(dá)對(duì)他們付出時(shí)間的感激，提供零食，播放音樂(lè)，并要求人們關(guān)掉手機(jī)和筆記本電腦。

Facilitation

Facilitation starts the moment attendees walk into the room. Because people often experience meetings as interruptions—taking them away from their “real work”—the leader’s first task is to promote a sense of presence among attendees. There are several ways to do this: by greeting people at the door, expressing gratitude for their time, offering snacks, playing music, and asking folks to turn off their phones and laptops. It is also important to start with a purposeful opening statement explaining why everyone is gathered.

同樣重要的是，進(jìn)行有意義的開(kāi)場(chǎng)陳述，闡明召集所有人開(kāi)會(huì)的原因。在談話(huà)開(kāi)始時(shí)，認(rèn)可團(tuán)體或個(gè)人的成績(jī)，或提醒與會(huì)者“會(huì)議價(jià)值觀(guān)”——已經(jīng)商定的參會(huì)規(guī)則，例如保持發(fā)言簡(jiǎn)潔。所有這些技巧都能讓人們感到受歡迎，并準(zhǔn)備好解決手頭的任務(wù)。

Consider recognizing group or individual accomplishments or reminding attendees of “meeting values”—previously agreed-upon rules of engagement, such as keeping comments succinct. All these tactics help people feel welcome and primed to tackle the task at hand.

談話(huà)中，你應(yīng)該抱持主人翁心態(tài)，提出問(wèn)題，鼓勵(lì)他人，以身作則積極傾聽(tīng)，征集問(wèn)題并管理沖突。當(dāng)然，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者有時(shí)也需要提出自己的意見(jiàn)和指示，推動(dòng)討論進(jìn)行。但促進(jìn)積極性的關(guān)鍵在于，明白你主要扮演的是輔助角色。這確保會(huì)議真正能做到有商有量，與會(huì)者能暢所欲言，并且覺(jué)得自己對(duì)會(huì)議結(jié)果做出了努力。

As the conversation gets started, try to adopt a stewardship mindset, asking questions, engaging others, modeling active listening, drawing out concerns, and managing conflicts. Of course, leaders at times will need to offer their own opinions and directives to move the discussion forward, but the key to successful facilitation is understanding that you’re primarily playing a supportive role. This ensures that there is genuine give-and-take, attendees feel safe speaking up, and they leave feeling committed to the outcomes.

讓參與者積極參與還有哪些技巧？你可以嘗試為每個(gè)議程項(xiàng)目分配具體時(shí)間，看看是否有助于確保公平的發(fā)言時(shí)長(zhǎng)。為了評(píng)估人們對(duì)某個(gè)想法感興趣的程度，可以讓他們舉手表決。如果你認(rèn)為匿名可能效果更好，也可以使用快速問(wèn)卷App或網(wǎng)站。與會(huì)者用手機(jī)就能參與，然后分享并討論匯總結(jié)果。為了防止團(tuán)體迷思（groupthink），你可以考慮在會(huì)議期間加入幾段沉默期，讓人們?cè)跊](méi)有聽(tīng)到別人意見(jiàn)的情況下，提出想法或形成意見(jiàn)。例如，“頭腦寫(xiě)作（Brainwriting）”要求個(gè)人先安靜反思并寫(xiě)下想法，再大聲說(shuō)出來(lái)。研究表明，與頭腦風(fēng)暴相比，這種方法能產(chǎn)生更多的創(chuàng)造性思維?！盁o(wú)聲閱讀（silent reading）”也很有用。開(kāi)會(huì)討論前，讓與會(huì)者閱讀提案，可以增加他們對(duì)新想法的理解和記憶，從而提高他們的積極性。

What are some techniques for getting attendees to actively participate? Try using time allotments for each agenda item to see whether that helps ensure equitable “air time.” To gauge interest in an idea, ask for a show of hands or, if you think anonymity might help, use a quick-survey App or website to poll people using their cell phones. Then share and discuss the aggregate results. To prevent groupthink, consider incorporating periods of silence throughout the meeting to let people to come up with ideas or form opinions without hearing others’ thoughts. “Brainwriting,” for instance, involves having individuals quietly reflect and write down their ideas before sharing them out loud;?research shows?that this Approach yields more creative thinking than brainstorming does. Silent reading can also be useful. Asking attendees in a meeting to read a proposal to themselves before discussing it can increase their understanding and retention of the new idea—and thus their engagement with it.

戴維有兩個(gè)關(guān)于積極性的問(wèn)題需要解決：讓更多人愿意發(fā)言，希望他們能進(jìn)行真正的對(duì)話(huà)和辯論。為解決參與度問(wèn)題，他開(kāi)始定期提醒與會(huì)者，希望每個(gè)人都參與，并期望同事互相鼓勵(lì)發(fā)言。他提前征求了人們的想法和意見(jiàn)，確保每個(gè)人的關(guān)切都會(huì)得到重視，或者詢(xún)問(wèn)人們是否愿意這么做。他還提議，讓更沉默的與會(huì)者貢獻(xiàn)想法，或領(lǐng)導(dǎo)特定的議程項(xiàng)目。當(dāng)有人發(fā)言過(guò)長(zhǎng)，他使用肢體語(yǔ)言進(jìn)行提示，例如通過(guò)轉(zhuǎn)移目光，或?qū)⒓绨蜣D(zhuǎn)向別人，表明他需要其他人回應(yīng)。當(dāng)事態(tài)轉(zhuǎn)好時(shí)，他會(huì)說(shuō)：“我喜歡這次討論，非常感謝每個(gè)人的參與”來(lái)強(qiáng)化正確的言行。

Dave had two facilitation issues to address: He needed to get more people talking, and he wanted them to engage in real dialogue and debate. To address the participation problem, he began to periodically remind attendees that he wanted everyone to be involved and expected teammates to encourage one another to speak up. He solicited people’s ideas and opinions in advance to make sure he highlighted their concerns, or he would call on people to share if they were comfortable doing so. He made a point of asking quieter attendees to contribute thoughts or lead particular agenda items. He used body language to signal when someone was starting to dominate the conversation—for example, by shifting his gaze and turning his shoulders toward others to indicate that he wanted their reactions. And when he began to see Better dynamics, he reinforced the behavior by offering comments such as “I’m loving this discussion and really Appreciate everyone’s engagement and participation. Thank you.”?

為了推動(dòng)團(tuán)隊(duì)進(jìn)行更深刻和富有意義的對(duì)話(huà)，他有時(shí)會(huì)邀請(qǐng)一些人在會(huì)議中故意“唱反調(diào)”。如果目標(biāo)是解決具體的問(wèn)題，他會(huì)在幻燈片上匿名列出團(tuán)隊(duì)成員私下建議的所有選項(xiàng)，并就每個(gè)選項(xiàng)進(jìn)行分組討論。他有時(shí)還將評(píng)估問(wèn)題與決策分開(kāi)，確保辯論能順暢進(jìn)行，不會(huì)因被迫當(dāng)場(chǎng)做出決定的壓力而受阻——吉百利和波音等很多公司都青睞這一策略。

To push his team toward more robust and in-depth conversation, he sometimes Appointed people to play devil’s advocate in meetings. If the goal was to address a specific issue, he would create PowerPoint slides listing all the potential options privately suggested to him by team members (without using their names) and open each one to group discussion. He also sometimes separated the evaluation of an issue from the decision making, to ensure that debate wasn’t hampered by the pressure of having to make a choice on the spot—a strategy favored by companies including Cadbury Schweppes and Boeing.

重新評(píng)估

即使管理人員主動(dòng)診斷會(huì)議問(wèn)題，并學(xué)會(huì)更好地準(zhǔn)備會(huì)議和積極鼓勵(lì)參與者，依然有改進(jìn)余地。所以這一過(guò)程還需要循環(huán)進(jìn)行。戴維在實(shí)踐了我描述的策略數(shù)月后，要求團(tuán)隊(duì)進(jìn)行另一次坦率評(píng)估。好消息是，每個(gè)人都認(rèn)為他組織的會(huì)議有了很大改善。但又有了新問(wèn)題。一些與會(huì)者認(rèn)為會(huì)議比合理的議程還要長(zhǎng)，討論有時(shí)漫無(wú)目的。所以戴維決定，將會(huì)議時(shí)間縮短5到10分鐘，來(lái)創(chuàng)造更多的緊迫感和專(zhuān)注力。

Reassessment

Even when managers proactively diagnose their meeting problems and learn to Better prepare for and facilitate the gatherings they lead, there will undoubtedly be room for improvement. And so the process begins again. In Dave’s case, after a few months of experimenting with the tactics I’ve described, he asked his team for another frank assessment. The good news is that everyone thought his meetings had vastly improved. But a new issue emerged. Some attendees felt that meetings were still longer than justified by their agendas; discussions sometimes rambled. So Dave decided to shave five or 10 minutes off his schedules to create a bit more urgency and focus.

有趣的是，人們還提出了與會(huì)議無(wú)關(guān)的建議，指出了部門(mén)中的流程問(wèn)題。起初戴維吃了一驚。但后來(lái)他意識(shí)到，在改變參會(huì)方式的同時(shí)，他也改變了團(tuán)隊(duì)的文化。他展現(xiàn)了自己是一個(gè)不故步自封、重視反思、學(xué)習(xí)、靈活性，并愿承擔(dān)合理風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和嘗試新事物的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。員工也投桃報(bào)李，積極地幫助他解決問(wèn)題。組織會(huì)議似乎只是管理者工作的很小一部分。但會(huì)議的積極變化可以為公司及其員工帶來(lái)真正的收益。如果你的公司沒(méi)有相關(guān)培訓(xùn)，那么你可以利用本文中的策略培養(yǎng)這項(xiàng)關(guān)鍵技能。

Interestingly, people also offered suggestions that had nothing to do with meetings but were designed to address process issues in the department. At first, Dave was taken aback. But then he realized that in changing the way he ran his meetings, he’d shifted the culture on his team. He’d shown that he was a leader who valued reflection, learning, flexibility, taking reasonable risks, not being complacent, and trying new things, and his employees were rewarding him with proactive problem-solving.

史蒂文·羅格貝格是北卡羅來(lái)納大學(xué)夏洛特分校校長(zhǎng)教授，在美國(guó)和海外以及跨學(xué)科方面做出了杰出貢獻(xiàn)。他還是該校組織科學(xué)項(xiàng)目主任，并著有《會(huì)議的驚人科學(xué)：如何領(lǐng)導(dǎo)團(tuán)隊(duì)創(chuàng)造業(yè)績(jī)巔峰》（The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance，牛津大學(xué)出版社2019年出版）。