April 4, 2001	Volume 1, Issue 14
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The Shape of the Table

by Rick Brenner

Not only was the meeting running over, but it now seemed that the entire far end of the table was having its own meeting. Why are some meetings like this?

ack struggled with his frustration — another meeting totally out of control. Despite his repeated, insistent requests, the sidebar conversations wouldn't stop, and now they involved more than the usual suspects. He wondered why he had ever accepted this job.

Most of us address this problem by working on our skills. That's always helpful, but we rarely consider Context — the setting in which we hold the meeting. Sometimes Context is the key.

Perhaps you recall that in the Viet Nam peace negotiations, the negotiators first spent months negotiating the shape of the table. Many observers in the U.S. considered this a sign of deadlock, but historians now agree that the issue was politically important. So it is in working environments. The shape of the table, and our positions around it, strongly influence the flow of the meeting.

The traditional configuration is a long rectangle, with the meeting leader at the head. Though there are exceptions, proximity to the leader indicates status. Since this configuration has problems, avoid it. Choose the right room for the job, and choose a room that's flexible enough to meet your needs. Here are some factors to consider.

For small meetings use a room with a round table. This facilitates frequent and spontaneous pairwise exchanges. The wrong shape can keep some people out of the action.

For larger meetings, the meeting leader should avoid sitting at one end. Instead, sit in the middle of one side. The ends are too far from each other, which makes facilitating the meeting difficult. When you sit at the middle of one side, you have good access to all participants, and they have good access to you.

For any size meeting, a long, extremely narrow table makes it difficult for people at opposite ends to participate. Multiple foci of conversation can develop more easily, spinning the meeting out of control.

Sometimes
Context
is the keySome meetings require multiple foci, if there are breakout sessions. For such meetings, you might not be able to meet in one room, but if you can, choose one that supports your breakout pattern — one that has separate tables. Push them together for the single-focus portion of the meeting, and pull them apart for breakouts. After a breakout ends, move the furniture back to a single-focus configuration. This draws a strong boundary between the single-focus and multiple-focus portions of the meeting.

Other meetings — brainstorms, for example — need no table. Choose a room without a table, or one with a table you can move to the side.

Whatever your needs, as the meeting planner, you have an advantage over the Viet Nam peace negotiators. You can decide what you want — you needn't spend three months negotiating the shape of the table. But if you do have to negotiate it, choose a room with the right table for the job.  Top    Next Issue

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Do you spend your days scurrying from meeting to meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) Read 101 Tips for Effective Meetings to learn how to make meetings much more productive and less stressful — and a lot more rare. Order Now!

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See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Effective Meetings for more related articles.

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Public seminars

Person-to-Person Communication for Project Managers

When we talk, listen, send or read emails, read or write memos, or when we leave or listen to voice mail messages, we're communicating person-to-person. And whenever we communicate person-to-person, we risk being misunderstood, offending others, feeling hurt, and being confused. There are so many ways for things to go wrong that we could never learn how to fix all the problems. A more effective approach avoids problems altogether, or at least minimizes their occurrence. In this very interactive program you'll learn a model of inter-personal communications that can help you stay out of the ditch. In those moments of intense involvement, when we're most likely to slip, you'll have a new tool to use to keep things constructive. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:

• Des Moines, IA: February 16, Breakfast Meeting, Central Iowa Chapter of The Project Management Institute.
   
• Des Moines, IA: February 16, Lunch Meeting, Central Iowa Chapter of The Project Management Institute.
   
• Houston, Texas: May 8, Monthly Meeting, Houston Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   
• Houston, Texas: May 9, Monthly Meeting, Houston Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

The Race to the South Pole: The Power of Agile Development

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough. Lessons abound. Among the more important lessons are those that demonstrate the power of the agile approach to project management and product development. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarSt. George Banquet Hall, Kitchener, Ontario: March 6, Dinner Meeting, Canada's Technology Triangle Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Register now.
   

Human-Centered Risk Management

Most of us can assess technological risks, but risks related to human behavior tend to resist our best efforts. This session provides a framework for evaluating risks related to the behavior of individuals, teams, organizations and people generally. Human-centered risk differs from technological or market risk, because objective evaluation requires acknowledging personal and organizational limitations and failures. Since some of those limitations and failures might apply to the people assessing the risks, or to their superiors, there's a tendency to deny them or to explain them away. Our approach examines capability, organization, context, risk mitigation, and workplace politics. It has tools for guiding the assessment and management of human-centered risk, and we show how to extend these tools to suit your situation. You'll learn how to identify sources of risk in human behavior; recognize systemic and individual barriers to acknowledging risk; assess the effects of organizational turbulence; determine the risk associated with inappropriate internal risk transfer; estimate the effects of team dysfunction, toxic conflict and turnover; and measure the impact of workplace politics. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarMITRE, in Bedford, Massachusetts: March 20, Monthly Meeting, Boston SPIN. Register now.
   

The Race to the South Pole: Ten Lessons for Project Managers

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough, but to project managers, the story is fascinating. Lessons abound. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Columbia, Missouri: May 17, Full-Day Workshop, Mid Missouri Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

Project Management in Fluid Environments

Most people now work in environments that can best be characterized as fluid, because they're subject to continual change. We never know what's coming next. In such environments, managing — teams, projects, groups, departments, or the enterprise — often entails moving from surprise to surprise while somehow staying almost on track. It's a nerve-wracking existence. This program provides numerous tools that help project managers who work in fluid environments. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Columbia, Missouri: May 17, Monthly Meeting, Mid Missouri Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

The Politics of Meetings for People Who Hate Politics

There's a lot more to running an effective meeting than having the right room, the right equipment, and the right people. With meetings, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. How the parts interact with each other and with external elements is as important as the parts themselves. And those interactions are the essence of politics for meetings. This program explores techniques for leading meetings that are based on understanding political interactions, and using that knowledge effectively to meet organizational goals. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Rochester, New York: May 24, Professional Development Day, Rochester Chapter of the Project Management Institute.