I don’t dispute that the phenomenon you’re describing is real, but purely as a data point I’d offer that in the majority of my recent experiences working with organizations as a consultant, managers have not explicitly sought to use meetings this way, and in a few cases they have proactively pushed for input from others. It’s certainly possible that the sample of organizations I’m working with is biased both because a) they are mostly nonprofits and foundations, and b) if they are working with me it’s a signal that they’re unusually attentive to their decision-making process. But I don’t want people reading this thread to be under the impression that all managers are this cynical.
But I don’t want people reading this thread to be under the impression that all managers are this cynical.
I think it’s a mistake to see this as simply being about being cynical. A CEO might justly believe that infighting within his company is a bigger problem then decision quality and focus on using meetings as a way to get people to cooperate better with each other.
I don’t dispute that the phenomenon you’re describing is real, but purely as a data point I’d offer that in the majority of my recent experiences working with organizations as a consultant, managers have not explicitly sought to use meetings this way, and in a few cases they have proactively pushed for input from others. It’s certainly possible that the sample of organizations I’m working with is biased both because a) they are mostly nonprofits and foundations, and b) if they are working with me it’s a signal that they’re unusually attentive to their decision-making process. But I don’t want people reading this thread to be under the impression that all managers are this cynical.
I think it’s a mistake to see this as simply being about being cynical. A CEO might justly believe that infighting within his company is a bigger problem then decision quality and focus on using meetings as a way to get people to cooperate better with each other.