I know you probably have a lot of meetings today so I’ll keep this short.
Speaking of meetings, I’ve noticed something strange lately. A lot of companies do great work around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). For some reason, however, that work is not often visible in company-wide meetings and events.
Picture this typical All-Hands company meeting (a meeting where the whole company or team is invited):
- Leadership gives business updates
- The same leaders tend to speak at every meeting
- You do the meeting at a time that sort of works for all time zones but not really
- The meeting consists of lots of PowerPoint slide decks, one after the other
Sound familiar?
It doesn’t have to be this way. Company-wide events are a great forum for making your core values visible.
To begin the shift, ask yourself the following:
- How can I amplify more diverse voices in the meeting?
- How can speakers demonstrate inclusive behaviors during their presentations?
- How can I use meeting content to promote our core company values?
- How can I make the meeting more engaging with mixed media?
Meetings are missed opportunities most of the time. Even team meetings rarely have a process, a moderator, or a focus on DEI. Simple actions and intentions can change this cycle.
For example: In team meetings, provide multiple ways people can share their ideas rather than expecting everyone to speak up on a live call.
I am going to make a big announcement soon about how you can shift meetings from same old-same old to a transformational experience, so stay tuned!
One small step: At your next meeting today, try taking one small step toward a more inclusive process. Reach out to someone you haven’t heard from in a while. Do the meeting at a time that is better for another location. Or just sit back and think about how the meeting format might be better going forward.
What do you struggle with most about company meetings? Put your thoughts in the comments!
