Leadership and Executive Development for women of all races, cultures and backgrounds
Issue link: https://diversitywoman.epubxp.com/i/343997
d i v e r s i t y w o m a n . c o m S u m m e r 2 0 1 4 D I V E R S I T Y W O M A N 13 THINKSTOCKPHOTOS Etc. The Outsiders Resurrecting the Meeting Shortcuts Upfront > W e've all been there: a stufy conference room, a droning speaker, co- workers furtively checking emails. Ah, meetings—the top ofce time waster, according to surveys by Salary.com. Why are they so often so bad? "It's easy for people who are in charge to convince themselves that their meetings are okay," says Erika Andersen, founder of man- agement consulting frm Proteus International and author of Leading So People Will Follow. "Even if their meetings are awful, their folks don't tell them, so they keep happening." Andersen suggests making a habit of these simple—but underused— strategies to make your meetings better. A recent catalyst report on the experience of "otherness" in the workplace turned up some dis- maying fndings, especially for women of color. Catalyst researchers surveyed 2,463 MBA graduates working in the United States, one-third of whom were women. They wanted to look at how people who felt different from the dominant group fared in terms of their opportunities, advancement, and aspira- tions. A few of the fndings: Of those with mentors, women who felt racially or ethnically different were less likely to have senior-level mentors than other groups. Only 58 percent of women who felt racially or ethnically different had senior executive mentors, compared with 71 percent of women who did not feel different. Women who felt racially or ethnically different (29 percent) were nearly twice as likely to perceive a "great" or "very great" negative impact on their career due to a lack of visible projects as women who did not feel different (15 percent). Feeling different seemed to shrink a woman's sense of possibility: among women who felt racially or ethnically different, 46 percent said they were likely to downsize their aspirations, compared with 33 percent of women who did not feel different. Managers, the researchers say, can make things better by coming up with metrics to ensure that those outside the dominant group have equal access to high-profle projects; encouraging senior- level employees to mentor people who are different from them; and providing employees with opportunities to widen their networks. The full report is available at catalyst. org/knowledge/feeling-different-being- other-us-workplaces . 1 Make sure that the purpose of the meeting is clear. Te organizer should be able to say, "We're having this meeting in order to do X, Y, or Z." 2 Invite the right people. Include only those workers essential to the topics being discussed. Don't invite three people from a department when one could come and represent all three. 3 Create a good agenda and use it. Andersen recommends a format she calls TTOG: Topic, Time, Owner, and Goal. What will be talked about, how long the group will spend on it, who will be responsible for follow-up afterward, and—most important—why the topic is being included. Tis helps ensure that everyone has the same expectations and works together to meet the goal.