HOW TO INFLUENCE A MEETING YOU AREN’T LEADING
You may not be looking forward to another week of meetings because you hate speaking up or you aren’t in control of how long it stretches but you can make it worth your while. Another reason to do so is that by participating in meetings you are building a bank of leadership qualities that elevates your personal brand even as you build your career.
Here’s the solution… Look through the agenda of the meeting and decide on ONE thing you want to do there. It could be to:
Ask a question
Agree to what a colleague says Refute what a colleague says but be ready to back it up with reason for your refusal
Relate the meeting topic to a recent incident and how it was solved- Remember to contextualize Request more clarity on ideas shared
Ask for a timeline on actions required
You will notice that most the solutions advises you to ask questions intelligently because you can never go wrong with asking questions. This keeps you active during the meeting and offers insight into what the meeting organizer thinks. By the end of the meeting, you would have contributed immensely to the meeting without feeling powerless
WARNING: choose only one task to do so you don’t usurp the meeting by being the only speaker. That will only get you more eye rolling than answers!
