Whoa!
When was the last time you really looked at your junk drawer?
Mine is a random free-for-all. Like if the internet was a drawer, it would be my junk drawer.
The most colorful, loud, and bulky items dominate the space and the vibe, even if they are the least likely to be what I am looking for ... and they are also the most likely to jam up the drawer when I try to open it.
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Junk Drawers of Organizational Life
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Meetings are the junk drawers of organizational life. Whomever speaks first / most / loudest dominates the discussion and the decision making.
In some teams, the most prototypically senior individuals (which in most American organizations are the most male- and white-presenting individuals) take up the most airtime, space, and influence.
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When I interviewed executive Tony Prophet for my first book, he blew my mind with an insight about meetings: whatever is happening in your meetings, is happening in your organization.
He suggested noticing …
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These observations reveal a lot about inclusion in your organization. Just like a junk drawer, by default, it will be a mess. Building inclusion will require a bit of intention.
Otherwise, people will shut down and shut up, especially those who are less prototypically and stereotypically seen as "successful" in the organization.
But, the meeting could do the opposite. It could foster inclusive excellence in the organization. Remember, whatever is happening in your meetings, is happening in your organizations.
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The key to improving those meetings may lie in the work of Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, known for her work on psychological safety.
Psychological safety is the belief that you can take the risks of learning from failure or risking failure.
Like, admitting a mistake, asking a question when you are confused, expressing a different perspective, trying something new, or making a suggestion. These are the kinds of behaviors that require an inclusive culture.
Those kind of interpersonal risks are scary in many groups and organizations. And they don’t happen in junk drawer meetings. They require more intentional choices.
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In Edmondson’s new book RIGHT KIND OF WRONG, she recalls the insight that led to the discovery of the psychological safety concept. She was studying error rates in hospitals in the 1990s, and was confused as to why high psychological safety teams were making more errors.
Then, she realized. They weren't making more mistakes. They were reporting the mistakes, which meant they could fix them the next time around. This wasn't a junk drawer type team where people shut down and shut up.
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Interest in psychological safety has grown in recent years, leading Edmondson to be named #1 on the prestigious Thinkers50 List and google searches of the term to skyrocket.
It is clear that psychological safety is valuable for inclusive excellence. So, how can we build it into our meetings?
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Three Ways to Improve Your Meetings
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Here are three things to increase psychological safety in your meetings (e.g. make them less junk drawer-y).
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1. Remember Puppies (Encourage Risk Taking)
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We move towards pleasure not pain, praise not punishment. Want cute proof? Check out these dogs after being praised.
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It is a risk to reveal a mistake, ask a question, offer an idea, share a learning, or challenge an assumption, so people are not naturally going to do these things unless there is pleasure and praise that follows (or at least, the absence of pain and punishment).
So, even if you are confused, appalled, or repelled by what you have heard, shutting it down will not only penalize the risk-taker, it will also ensure no one else dares take a risk.
Instead, reward the risk-taking and seek to understand. You don't have to applaud the error or idea; but you do want to applaud the risk.
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In other words, if we do not actively praise, encourage, and reward the risk taking, we are essentially punishing it.
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2. Remember Taylor (Select or Be a Facilitator)
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I recently saw this video illustrating what Taylor Swift and team hear on stage via earpiece while performing. The metronome cues her while keeping her in sync with the band and dancers.
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Think of that metronome as a meeting facilitator who helps a meeting stay on track and on time, while still manifesting the creativity and knowledge in the group so we get the best of each performer.
Part of the facilitator’s job is to ensure that the best ideas are being generated, the richest information is being exchanged, and the most interpersonally risky moves are being taken.
Without the metronome of a facilitator (as happened briefly in this concert glitch), things get off beat and off pitch quickly, and we are back to whomever sings first, loudest, and most taking over the stage.
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3. Remember Babies (Model a Growth Mindset)
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Our emotions and vibes are highly contagious . Non-verbal modeling is primal, as we see in these adorable twin babies and their emotional exchange.
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When one of us models vulnerability by sharing a mediocre idea and asking others to improve on it, or showcasing a failure so others can learn from it, we are inviting others to mimic our willingness to take an interpersonal risk.
Psychological safety is a shared belief in a group of people and any one of us can spark the sharing of that belief with our own behavior.
Be contagious, in all the good ways!
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Clean Up the Junk Drawers
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A free-for-all junk drawer in your kitchen may be annoying but it’s livable.
Meetings at work are higher stakes. Junk drawer meetings are not only boring and soul-crushing, they also torch inclusion and psychological safety, which means more mistakes and less excellence.
So, remember puppies, Taylor, and babies for better meetings! And, all of this applies for virtual meetings too.
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Thanks for reading! Remember, Dear Good People is a zeitgeisty, evidence-based newsletter with tips on how to be the inclusive people we mean to be.
If someone forwarded this to you, sign up below to get your own free, no-spam-ever subscription.
Bonus: here is my hour long conversation with Dr. Phil. If you want to gawk at me being awkward, check out this moment when Dr. Phil gushes about my latest book A MORE JUST FUTURE.
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