>I am very interested in finding out: who's having "good" meetings, and
>why they think so.
Not sure what you meant here - why I think so could be what makes
them good for me or why I think I am having them so perhaps I could
try a few thoughts on both!!
Good for me is -
- clarity of purpose - either at the beginning so the meeting is
designed to ahieved it or developed in the meeting so everyone
shares it and is ready to work to achieve it beyond the meeting
- flexible agenda - so that we are doing the work we need to, when
we need to and not just going through the motions of the process
designed for us
- focus on reality - so that we are acknowledging the complexity,
taking account of people not present,and not playing games or
looking for simple answers
- a high degree of participation and shared responsibility so that
if I'm facilitiating it does not feel like it is all down to me
and if I'm participating I sense that my agenda is being integrated
with everyone elses and if we leave with less than I wanted we did
what we could and other things which others needed were a priority
for the whole
- a sense of community - which listens and supports, explains and
empathises is bigger than any one present with shared values and
vision
- the right information shared so we all come out wiser and able to
trust each other to make individual and collective decisions which
will make sense strategically (I would be disappointed if
afterwards someone did something which I could see was because they
didn't have all the data)
Why I think I am having them (sometimes)
- preparation - the mix of people planning them are from a wide
cross section of the system and they are all being open and honest
about the issues
- involvement - the people who come represent a wider cross-section
of the system than I have worked with before and they are all mixed
up to share data and have discussions with totally new perspectives
- self management - everyone is working with a sense
of responsiblity for the meeting because they are sharing roles for
managing the processes
- crisis/vision - most of the people I meet/work with want to make
a difference in their organisation either because they have a
vision of something better or because they know they don't want
things to carry on the way they are
I could say more - but lets see where this takes the conversation
>There's an analog to the "Well-Played Game" in the experience of the Good
>Meeting, and I want to start a dialog around that analog.
Also not sure if I understood this - please, please say more it
sounds fascinating.
-- Julie Beedon VISTA Associates - consulting for a better future julie@vistabee.win-uk.net