Why Not Have a Players-Only Meeting?

What I love about sports is they keep it simple.  Any member of a sports team can call for a “players-only meeting.”  Detroit Lions running back, Reggie Bush said, after his team’s second consecutive loss, “We definitely need to have a team meeting-really dig deep inside and find out what we’re made of.”  They had a meeting.  They won the next game.  Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers had a meeting after their season was 1-3.  In the meeting, Smith took responsibility for a dropped pass; then said, “Let’s go.”  His QB, Cam Newton, said, “I don’t have to give all the speeches to the team-other members are giving them.”  Then they won the next 8 games. Cool.

“Players-only” meetings are called to light a fire under a team.  We can’t know if the meeting was THE reason they started winning.  We do know the meeting was coach-less, emotional, and a time for honest self-reflection and an airing of grievances.  The theme is accountability, and sharing responsibility to grow and get better, and the words are passionate and inspiring.  As a speech coach, and a lifelong “wordsmith,” I believe in the power of the spoken word.

So why do we make it so complicated in our workplaces?  We have meetings to schedule WHEN to schedule the next meetings; we have meetings to discuss HOW we want to conduct our meetings; we have multiple meetings to learn HOW to have successful meetings.  I know-I have taught numerous courses– in meetings!– titled “Making Meetings Work.”

I say we cut down on meetings.  If disseminating information is the purpose of the meeting, you don’t need a meeting.  Cut away all the extraneous stuff; get right to the confrontation.  Start with owning what you can own, as Steve Smith did-own up to dropping the ball when you did, and say how it affected the team.  Then make the eyeball-to-eyeball promise.  Research shows that kind of promise gets results.  Let’s use the “players-only” method of assessing a meeting’s effectiveness:

1.  Instead of having meetings to study the drop in “employee engagement,” and the factors relating to generational values, just put up a sign:  “DO YOUR JOB!”  Then, hold feet to fire.

2.  Instead of feedback forms, look at the results after the meeting.  DID YOU WIN?  This requires you know what winning looks like in your company.  Easier said than done. Goals must be clear and posted and obvious, and constantly updated.

3.  Instead of classes in Meeting Management taught by “external” consultants for large sums of money (uh-oh, is this a good idea for my future?), make sure the player who calls the meeting is respected, and has a fire in his/her belly to get something DONE!  And make sure they are a good “speaker.” (You may need me for this  . . .)

So, simplify your life:  make sure your meetings meet the criteria above.  Otherwise, don’t have a meeting. Send an email.