Jazz Up Your Meetings
Imagine a symphony orchestra with a conductor who can't read music and musicians who are never told which instruments to play or when to play them. That's what most meetings sound like to me.
A good meeting is like a performance by a jazz quintet. There may or may not be a score to follow, but leadership emerges. A leader chooses a melody, a key, and a tempo. He knows how to get the piece started, how it might change along the way and where it might end. The sidemen know how to use their instruments appropriately. When called upon, they can play solo, or they can blend in behind the others to build inventive harmonies, rhythms and patterns.
How can leaders make their meetings more like good jazz?
Know the tune. Every meeting should have a single, clearly defined objective. Too many meetings try to do too much. It's hard to fit brainstorming and decision making into the same meeting; the skills and disciplines required for each are simply too different. Similarly, problem solving should not be shoe-horned into a session designed to pass along and clarify information. "Do one thing well" is a good rule to follow when planning meetings. If you have two objectives, have two shorter meetings. You'll get more done in less time.
Recruit the right players. Some great classical music has been written for strings or brass alone, but most jazz requires a blend of complimentary instruments. A typical quintet might have a piano, bass, woodwind, brass and percussion. Any one of the five could be the group's leader.
Similarly, every meeting needs at least three distinct voices. Early on, especially if the objective is to search for options to solve a problem, the first voices to be heard should be the "divergent thinkers." These are the instinctive idea generators, the people who pipe up long and loud with ideas and suggestions. Divergent thinkers are like the brass at the opening of a lively piece. They shout, they screech, they bring forward all sorts of musical ideas. They have a lot of energy, and are fun to listen to, but after a while, they run out of original ideas and need to sit down.
Next up should be the "connectors." Their special talent is to reflect on the array of ideas coming from the "divergents" and to recognize patterns and connections. They bring more than order; they create new sounds that build on the themes introduced by others.
Finally, there are the "closers." Their talent for convergence will help consolidate the emerging patterns and options and bring the piece to natural conclusion.
Every meeting needs all three voices. The leader's role is to make sure the "divergents" play long enough to give the "connectors" some ideas to work with, and then to cue the "closers" when it's time to move on. Although any given person at the meeting could play all three roles, it's more likely that each person has a specific voice. Leaders need to know each person's voice and when to cue it.
Be willing to improvise. In all jazz classics, a simple theme is enriched by variations. A jazz ensemble rarely plays a piece the same way twice. Meetings, too, should have creative meanders. Whatever the meeting's purpose, its management must be a blend of the intended and the serendipitous. You must always make room for inventiveness.
Don't expect perfection. Some meetings will soar with creative ideas; others will sound flat and lifeless. Sometimes the horns never sit down, the percussion is out of sync or the bass line gets in the way. Don't stop tinkering; jazz lets you try something new each time.
Here's something you can try in a practice session. Ask one group of "divergents" to lead off with as many ideas as possible. Give them 10 uninterrupted minutes to jam. Ask another group of "connectors" to listen carefully, and on your cue, come in with suggestions that build upon the initial ideas. Your solo can be to play the "closer" when energy and ideas have peaked.
Play some good jazz in the background while you doing all this, pacing the meeting to the music. At best, people will begin to understand a meeting's dynamics in terms of voices, rhythms, pacing and blending. At worst, you'll enjoy good jazz in the background.
A good meeting is like a performance by a jazz quintet. There may or may not be a score to follow, but leadership emerges. A leader chooses a melody, a key, and a tempo. He knows how to get the piece started, how it might change along the way and where it might end. The sidemen know how to use their instruments appropriately. When called upon, they can play solo, or they can blend in behind the others to build inventive harmonies, rhythms and patterns.
How can leaders make their meetings more like good jazz?
Know the tune. Every meeting should have a single, clearly defined objective. Too many meetings try to do too much. It's hard to fit brainstorming and decision making into the same meeting; the skills and disciplines required for each are simply too different. Similarly, problem solving should not be shoe-horned into a session designed to pass along and clarify information. "Do one thing well" is a good rule to follow when planning meetings. If you have two objectives, have two shorter meetings. You'll get more done in less time.
Recruit the right players. Some great classical music has been written for strings or brass alone, but most jazz requires a blend of complimentary instruments. A typical quintet might have a piano, bass, woodwind, brass and percussion. Any one of the five could be the group's leader.
Similarly, every meeting needs at least three distinct voices. Early on, especially if the objective is to search for options to solve a problem, the first voices to be heard should be the "divergent thinkers." These are the instinctive idea generators, the people who pipe up long and loud with ideas and suggestions. Divergent thinkers are like the brass at the opening of a lively piece. They shout, they screech, they bring forward all sorts of musical ideas. They have a lot of energy, and are fun to listen to, but after a while, they run out of original ideas and need to sit down.
Next up should be the "connectors." Their special talent is to reflect on the array of ideas coming from the "divergents" and to recognize patterns and connections. They bring more than order; they create new sounds that build on the themes introduced by others.
Finally, there are the "closers." Their talent for convergence will help consolidate the emerging patterns and options and bring the piece to natural conclusion.
Every meeting needs all three voices. The leader's role is to make sure the "divergents" play long enough to give the "connectors" some ideas to work with, and then to cue the "closers" when it's time to move on. Although any given person at the meeting could play all three roles, it's more likely that each person has a specific voice. Leaders need to know each person's voice and when to cue it.
Be willing to improvise. In all jazz classics, a simple theme is enriched by variations. A jazz ensemble rarely plays a piece the same way twice. Meetings, too, should have creative meanders. Whatever the meeting's purpose, its management must be a blend of the intended and the serendipitous. You must always make room for inventiveness.
Don't expect perfection. Some meetings will soar with creative ideas; others will sound flat and lifeless. Sometimes the horns never sit down, the percussion is out of sync or the bass line gets in the way. Don't stop tinkering; jazz lets you try something new each time.
Here's something you can try in a practice session. Ask one group of "divergents" to lead off with as many ideas as possible. Give them 10 uninterrupted minutes to jam. Ask another group of "connectors" to listen carefully, and on your cue, come in with suggestions that build upon the initial ideas. Your solo can be to play the "closer" when energy and ideas have peaked.
Play some good jazz in the background while you doing all this, pacing the meeting to the music. At best, people will begin to understand a meeting's dynamics in terms of voices, rhythms, pacing and blending. At worst, you'll enjoy good jazz in the background.
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