The Role of Leadership in a Meeting

Meeting Disruptions and Lack of Communication

Kelly O’Neil, the V.P Human Resources, called the meeting to order and briefly described the main agenda and invited members to contribute on the speedy action the company will take and the long-term changes and modifications to be made to resolve the situation. His communication style was clear and concise for there was no member present raised an issue regarding lack of understanding of the agenda of the meeting. However, when he realized the rising tension in the room when members expressed their fears concerning the issue at hand, he interrupted rudely to grab the attention of the team. The agenda was a serious issue of the quality of the main product of the company and the harm it was causing to users. Therefore, the meeting was of a high level, and members present should not have struggled to be heard (Gonzzlez, Guzman & Prada, 2014).

Lack of Humility and Disruption

The act of Kelly standing in front of the team and waving his hands to raise his point was an indication that the meeting was out of order. He needed to sit down to demonstrate a sense of humility to the team and make the participants feel less intimidated. Aaron Penopolous, the media relations specialist, responded to Kelly’s inquiry while leaning into the conference table. The gesture indicated that he is not interested in the issues being discussed and was not paying attention.

Stephanie Eichner, the marketing manager, made a rude interruption while Aaron was addressing the team and did not give him time to complete his suggestion to solve the problem at hand. His action of rolling back her chair with the arms crossed was an indication that he was not humble. It was wrong for Stephanie to state that the detergent was one of her products for the whole issue was a collective responsibility. Also, Stephanie rolled her eyes while looking at Dr. Schmidt, a gesture that indicated she blamed him for the problem facing the company. Barbara Nordstrom needed an answer to respond to her customers, yet she was in the meeting to suggest for solutions. Her worried voice was an indication that she was not up to the task of providing answers. Jerry Redding, the customer care manager, interrupted Barbara rudely and misused non-verbal cues of communication. The act of using his arms and hands to calm Barbara down was a sign of disrespect (Gonzzlez, Guzman & Prada, 2014). Clio, the customer representative, indicated that she was not interested in offering her voice into the issue being discussed as she opted to sink down into her seat. Seeli, the industrial sales manager, popped out his eyes to illustrate his frustrations and ignorance to the issue at hand, yet, the leader of the meeting had raised the problem to be discussed before the start of the session. Julio, the Industrial products manager, sighed before stating his comments illustrating that he was upset with the agenda. DR. Schmidt the V.P industrial Labs stood to grab the team’s attention, an act that was unethical.

Improving Meeting Effectiveness

The progress on the goal of the meeting was subverted at the point Stephanie interrupted Aaron in his response to the question posed by the Kelly. Stephany’s comment indicated that the team was in agreement with Aaron’s contribution, which was not the case. The team could have stayed on track by having Kelly O’Neil take control of the meeting proceedings. It could have been his responsibility to keep the agenda moving and ensuring that the team remained focused (Reddy & Dr. S. Krishnaiah, 2012). Besides, Kelly should have initially stated the ground rules to avoid rude interruptions and interject in the event a topic is dragged and a decision is not made. The agenda of the meeting should have been sent out before to guarantee the discussion was productive. The team members should have modeled appropriate responses to avoid off-topic rambling.

Effective Leadership and Communication

Leadership was evident in the conduct of the meeting especially when Kelly opened the meeting with the agenda of the day and brought everyone to speed concerning the emergence and the progress of the issue at hand. However, something more should have been done to make it more effective. Kelly should have ensured that the agenda of the meeting covered the needs of the entire team in addition to the main issue (Reddy & Dr. S. Krishnaiah, 2012). Topics that affect the whole team are useful in taking care of the concerns of the people in the meeting. The fundamental goal of the meeting was to seek input and make a decision. However, most of the speakers did not stick to the agenda and tried to express their tribulations with the customers. Kelly should have been the appointing authority of the speaking party and ensuring that each topic had a leader to head the discussion.

Effective Negotiation and Conflict Management

Negotiation and conflict management strategies could have been successfully applied to ensure that the team succeeded in addressing the agenda. The team members should have avoided being provoked into an emotional response (Conlon, 2012). Seeli, the industrial sales manager, felt angry for not being consulted on the agenda when the issue arose. Creating an opening for communication to ensure everyone has their say would have helped to solve the conflict that occurred in the meeting. Barbara and Seeli felt that the company was responsible for the dwindling relationship between them and their customers. Ensuring everyone is heard helps to clear the air and enabling members to dive into the issue at hand. Strategies to create value in the various responses of the team members should have been employed. Members digressed deliberating from the main agenda and thus, ensuring members are focused and avoids any possible conflict.

References

Conlon, D. (2012). Negotiation and Conflict Management Strategies. Negotiation And Conflict Management Research, 5(1), 1-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-4716.2011.00087.x

Gonzzlez, G., Guzman, A., & Prada, F. (2014). Annual General Meetings: A Waste of Time or Effective Corporate Governance Bodies?. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2395053

Reddy, B., & Dr. S. Krishnaiah, D. (2012). Non Verbal Communication Cues: an Urgent Required Skill for Achieving Effective Communication. International Journal Of Scientific Research, 2(11), 212-213. doi: 10.15373/22778179/nov2013/68