Get Out Of Your Own Way

I assumed that running and facilitating large meetings was one of the many superhero abilities you needed to succeed as a leader.

It’s bullshit. You don’t.

I suspect it’s a common misconception that stems from the years of passive programming we received as children, sitting in a classroom where only the smartest and most senior person in the room gets to stand up front, doing all the talking while holding a writing implement in front of a large board.

And it’s then probably sustained by the fact that many leaders struggle to get comfortable a) demonstrating the vulnerability required to b) concede that they can’t do something, c) by accepting that someone else can do a better job, d) in front of the team they’re supposed to be leading.

Leaders, lead — right?

Thanks for reading Everscale! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Plus, there’s often also some weird status or power dynamic that says nobody can have a higher word count than the boss during meetings. This is also bullshit.

The truth is it’s not about whether you can or cannot lead and facilitate a meeting — it’s about whether you should.

Unless you have two brains, you can’t effectively facilitate a group meeting and simultaneously participate in it effectively. The truth is it’s not about whether you can or cannot lead and facilitate big meetings — it’s about whether you should.

You can’t do everything and shouldn’t

Appointing or hiring a great facilitator for your next quarterly planning off-site or strategy meeting will significantly improve the meeting experience for everyone as well as the quality of the resulting outputs. It will also enable you to contribute objectively and meaningfully to the discourse, mindfully moderate your contribution, and create the space for others to make theirs.

Even more importantly, it will free up the cognitive bandwidth required for you to observe how your team works, interacts and functions (or not).

The how and the who are just as important as the what.

If you already know someone who can facilitate, great. Otherwise, find an outside contractor who can regularly do it for you, enabling them to develop their fluency with the group and your business as you progress.

It’s a little-known fact that the Two ears, one mouth rule actually applies 10x to leaders, so the sooner you start listening and observing more, the better a leader you’ll become.