The Quiet Meeting
Debbie Ronson, sales supervisor, was just opening a meeting she had called for members of her department. Debbie did most of the talking for the first five minutes, recounting her group’s performance over the past week. Then she asked, “Are there any questions?” No one responded. Debbie then changed subjects. “As you know, in two weeks we’ll be going to a new format for scheduling our calls. This was outlined in the memo from the vice president, copies of which I sent to each of you. This is going to alter your calling schedules and signif- icantly change the way we’ve been doing things. I have some ideas on how we can best work into this new system. But before getting into that, I’d like to see if anyone here has any ideas ... [pause]. Anyone care to contribute anything?” No one in the group responded. Debbie continued, “Well, here’s what I think we should do. ...” She then spent eight minutes outlining her plan. After the meeting was over, Debbie discussed it with one of her fellow supervisors. “I don’t know what it is,” she said, “but I can never get my people to say much at meetings. I try to give them a chance, but I always end up doing most of the talking. It seems they’re either shy or disinterested, but I really don’t know if that’s the reason or not. I just wish they’d contribute their ideas.”
1. What reasons might there be for the lack of participation in Debbie's meeting?
2. What actions could Debbie take to run a more effective meeting?
3. Consider you are a facilitation consultant. After reviewing process consultation and other models of consultation, what advice would you offer to Debbie to help encourage participation in future meetings?