Meetings play a big part in shaping company culture — and while collegial gatherings were critical to business pre-pandemic, in the new hybrid working world they play an even greater role. As the future of work continues to evolve to a more hybrid model, opportunities to connect will shift from deskside/casual connects to more time in organised meetings. Recent analysis showed that on average 15% more work time has been spent in meetings over the last two years, with up to 35% more time for middle managers, and 5% for senior managers.
So, how can we ensure that these key events are optimal, not just in output but in terms of who is contributing and how they’re doing so? Research shows that inclusive teams make better business decisions up to 87% of the time (source: Larson, Erik, 2017, September), and the more voices you include in the discussions, the more likely you are to uncover any concerns and issues, and ultimately find better solutions.
Creating space for people to feel that their contributions are valued and included means that more people will bring better ideas to the table — even if that table is digital. It is one of the reasons that Amazon is supercharging its meeting culture through its Amplify programme, helping leaders to understand how to run more inclusive meetings and strengthening employees’ confidence around contribution, by looking at why people don’t contribute and then working to remove these barriers.
We look at six ways Amazon is helping employees feel empowered and create a more inclusive meeting culture that allows everyone’s talent to shine.
1. Have meeting allies in the background
‘Allyship is important in the context of meetings because it’s a personal commitment to inclusivity, but in meeting culture in particular, it really helps to create space for everyone and ensure they’re encouraged and empowered to speak up and contribute,’ says Amazon Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion International Markets, Liz Gebhard. This allyship can come from your role as a peer or as a leader, but everyone has a role to play — you might not be running the meeting, for example, but you can still observe behaviours and dynamics and can help reset the tone if needed.
Practical allyship can be demonstrated in many ways, from asking questions which encourage contribution and recognise expertise in quieter team members, to backing up points or even asking leaders to provide context to a decision or priority. Having meeting allies in the background
2. Watch out for insider-outsider dynamics
‘The right preparation can help in feeling more confident to show up in a meeting’, says Gebhard. This could be anything from reviewing a technical document or presentation that might be discussed to making sure you have back-up points read to go if needed. For meeting leaders, understanding who else is in the room, how that interaction might affect, and outcome of the meeting is important — paying attention to any ‘insider-outsider’ dynamics that might be in play. Who in the room might feel excluded because of the dominant culture, be that gender, ethnicity, age, experience or knowledge? And how can you ensure that everyone can make their contribution confidently? Setting meeting agendas in advance and sending out relevant documents to pre-read will help to encourage contributions from a variety of people, some of who may need more time to consider things, rather than forcing them to think about everything during the meeting.
Don’t forget to follow up after as a meeting participant. ‘There’s so much value in contributing after the meeting,’ says Gebhard. She suggests asking questions that you didn’t get a chance to in the meeting or clarification on aspects if needed, while leaders can affirm the positive value of this in return to create a safe space to contribute ‘offstage’.
3. Ask precise questions; give precise answers
‘When you’re asked a question, you may want to instinctually share everything about it because that’s your opportunity to showcase your talent or knowledge, but that can take away from the impact you can have in a setting,’ notes Gebhard. ‘Being precise is making sure first and foremost to answer the question asked and not go into a lot of details that aren’t relevant. And again, if you have a specific question, ask that question. Don’t feel the need to add a bunch of context or other things on top of that.’ She notes that being as precise and concise as possible is key, but also making sure that you’re giving confidence in the sense that you’ve delivered on the key pieces. ‘If people have more follow up questions or more detail they can ask, but you’re also creating more space for others as well.’
4. Highlight the experts in the room
‘Leveraging knowledge of who else is in the room and who is an expert, particularly for the leader in the room, is vital — and pointing questions to those people as opposed to taking them on yourself will raise confidence and foster inclusivity,’ notes Gebhard. Highlighting people as experts is a great way to create an inclusive conversation; creating a safe space as they know they are being brought into the discussion by a leader who trusts their opinion. This in turn creates space around the person to talk by discouraging others in the meeting from trying to interrupt or jump in.
This is as true online as off — in a digital meeting it can be even more crucial to be intentional about bringing people in and setting a culture of listening. Intentional use of tools such as the raised hands functionality to create space and respect can be a simple thing to set in place up front to help people feel that space is being created for them to contribute.
5. Have the last word as a leader
Senior leaders are often seen as having all the answers — but not being the first to speak in a meeting can be a powerful way to show that they don’t always need to have the right answer and that there’s space for others to add their input first. As a leader, speaking last in the meeting is something that seems simple, but can be difficult in practice, notes Gebhard. ‘It was uncomfortable for me at first. I wasn’t sure if my team would ask the questions that I would have or if we’d have time to get all the information in this way, but they did and it worked. I’m now able to use my space at the end as a leader to validate them and if I have 10 questions going into the session, in this way, by the end I might now have only one that needs an answer because I’ve been able to open up space for my teams’.
6. Commit to small steps of courage
An important part of Amazon’s
Amplify sessions is to leave space at the end for people to reflect on tips that were shared and commit to taking two or three small steps of courage to increase their confidence in contributing to meetings. ‘The reason we frame it as ‘small steps of courage’ is that often this is not something you can immediately switch over,’ says Gebhard.
‘If, for example, you are an introvert and most of your leadership team are extroverts, it’s harder to find space. You need to find little steps; to say, ‘I’m going to ask one question in a meeting next week with X senior leaders or I’m going to follow up offline on two topics I want to learn more about’. Taking small steps can help build courage for the longer pieces.’ She also notes that Amazon encourages people to share their steps with leaders to ensure they’re supporting them in their journey. ‘Leadership is meant to be an enabler and can also give you different eyes, letting you know if they’re seeing that change or not.’