Unmasking the managers
A
guide to classifying executives by their expressions and actions during
meetings
Managers
can be classified in many conventional ways—based on their functional
expertise, performance, potential, gender, qualifications and age. Our human
resource teams are experts at all these classifications, but most of these
methods miss the point because they don’t measure how engaged the manager is
with his or her workplace. On the other hand, an excellent method of measuring
how connected managers are with their workplaces is to classify them by how
they look during a meeting. By “look”, I don’t mean how managers dress or
preen, though that carries a lot of meaning too. I mean how managers actually
look and behave during a meeting. Since there are no known scientific studies
on this important aspect of our workplaces, this column has put together a
guide to classifying managers by their expressions during meetings, for your
easy reference. When you are next in a meeting, try to mentally classify your
colleagues using this guide. It will give you new insights about your team, and
we promise it will also be fun.
Eager Beaver
The
Eager Beaver is all ears to what the boss is saying during a meeting. He (or
she) doesn’t want to miss a single word, and is most anxious that he should not
lose out on any pearls of wisdom which may roll by on the conference table.
During all meetings, he sports a picture of total concentration, looking and
listening with wide open eyes and ears, and taking copious notes of everything
the boss says. He fills many pages with his detailed notes, leaving many
wondering whether they are missing out on valuable stuff that he is hearing.
Sometimes, you can even hear him say: “Boss, that was an excellent point, can
you repeat it once more for me?” Eager Beaver is there to learn, and to impress
the boss with his listening skills. Don’t ever disturb him when the session is
on.
Deep Thinker
The Deep Thinker has a far-away look during meetings. The
impression you get is that he is reflecting deeply on the proceedings, on
everything that has been said until now. He never writes, because he believes
in absorbing everything directly into his deep and capacious mind. Sometimes,
his eyes are even closed—now, that could be mistaken for sleeping during a
boring session, but don’t ever make that error. The closed eyes actually
indicate meditative reflection, and signal a highly evolved manager who absorbs
only the truths and shuts out all the noise. Sometimes, such deep thinking is
accompanied by gentle snoring, at which point you should silently prod this
colleague, at the risk of interrupting his train of silent thought.
Nodding Head
This look is popular among many managers. They keep
nodding their heads during meetings, mostly without saying anything. Of course,
there are different varieties of nods, which you need to recognize. One sort of
nod, up and down, signals agreement with what is being said. Another nod,
sideways, signals some degree of disagreement. Some nods, which go both upwards
and sideways, are confusing in their intent. Nods can be rapid, or slow,
conveying different things. Sometimes, these managers will seek friends and
allies in the meeting room, look at them, nod and smile. Nods enable managers
to silently convey their views, without taking the risk of standing up and
speaking. The Nodding Head is an engaged manager, but one who also believes in
harmony and smooth progress of the meeting.
Impatient Watchman
Here is a manager who feels that the meeting at hand is a
total waste of time, or is dragging on for too long, and is constantly looking
at his watch. He looks at it when he comes into the conference room, and keeps
looking at it from time to time. It is likely that he may ask everyone to do a
time-check at some point during the meeting. While all this activity does not
make the time go faster, it indicates to everyone else in the room that the
Impatient Watchman will soon leave. And when he leaves the meeting eventually
on the dot of the hour after one final look at his watch, his expression says
it all—Guys, I know how to keep to my time, and many of you don’t.
In India, where many of our meetings drag on for too
long, we can learn something from him.
Digital Networker
This manager has a “digital” sort of look on his face
throughout meetings, because he is always waiting for the opportunity to take
the next peek at one of his digital devices. He believes that he is capable of
multitasking with ease. After all, a little bit of texting or emailing or
WhatsApping never distracted anyone from the main discussion at hand. He may
occasionally make a comment or observation to show everyone else how focused he
is on the content of the meeting. It is unlikely, though, that he will add much
value to the discussion, for his thoughts are mostly floating away in
cyberspace. You will see him smile or frown, but this will be based on the
content of the latest digital message he has received, and not what is
happening in the meeting. The Digital Networker generally has harmless intent
and a low attention span, but he can be terribly distracting to others and, of
course, he is very disengaged.
Distinguished Observer
This is the most intriguing type of look, and often
difficult to read. This person sits through the entire meeting with great
poise, but never once contributes to the proceedings. Sometimes, he reflects a
superior look, as if to indicate that the subject of the meeting is below his
standard. At other times, you will see an inscrutable look on his face. Often,
there’s a forbidding look too, which ensures that no one else in the meeting
conjures up the courage to speak to him. Unlike the Impatient Watchman, he is
no hurry to leave. You wonder why he is there, and what he is up to. All this
adds to the intrigue. In simple truth, he may have failed to understand
anything said during the meeting. But he could also be a spy, or a
disinterested individual, or he could be a man who has come into the meeting
entirely by mistake.
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan
& Co
Upcoming
Events | MIT School of Management – One Day Workshop “Use of QR Code and Augmented
Reality Application in Libraries” on 27th August 2016 at Kothrud
Campus, Pune 411038.
Note | If anybody use these post for forwarding
in any social media coverage or covering in the Newsletter please give due
credit to those who are taking efforts for the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment