Do try this at work: Circle Meetings

Photo by James Lee on Unsplash

Circle Meetings

I was introduced to circle meetings at a self-managing law firm and community organisation in 2015. Since then I have experienced them in various organisations and introduced them to more because they are fantastic. If you feel frustrated by meetings in your organisation then shake them up! Suggest trialling a circle —your team will thank you.

Here’s how

1. Ground rules. If time allows it at your first circle meeting it is good to agree ground rules as a group. If time is short you can use: be respectful; be honest; be compassionate; empathise; encourage vulnerability; if you tend to talk a lot be mindful of this (!); no tutting or eye-rolling etc; be aware of your body language; we don’t rant; remember how much time you’ve set aside. You can add to these and amend them over time.
2. Facilitator. Seek a volunteer to be a ‘facilitator’ whose role is to ensure the ground rules and steps are adhered to. It’s easy to forget first time around.
3. Purpose. Define the purpose of the meeting before you gather. This can be a discussion topic, a goal, or a specific question that needs to be answered.
4. One rule. There is only really one rule: one person can speak at a time. On Zoom or Teams etc you should be on mute if you're not speaking.
5. Starting. Talk in alphabetical order by first name. When you’re finished speaking or choose to pass, ask the next person: ‘What do you think?’.
6. Pass, pause or participate. When it’ your turn you can pass if you have nothing to say yet or wish to listen at first; pause to have a think before speaking or passing; or participate by giving your view on the topic, being mindful not to hold court!
7. End. The discussion ends when the whole group passes. This means no one has anything further to add to the discussion. Or it ends when you run out of time, but you will be surprised at how often these two align.

Benefits

• Listening. Circles teach active listening, and they teach this by doing.
• Vulnerability. Pretty quickly colleagues demonstrate their vulnerabilities.
• Trust. Vulnerability requires candour. People trust this.
• Improved relationships. Good relationships are built on trust, and you will soon have more of this.
• Different voices. You hear less from the usual suspects and more from the quieter voices, whose great ideas and contributions will surprise you.
• No interrupting. Can you imagine?!

Give them a go!

Trial a few circles with your team. Most people are dissatisfied with traditional meeting structures so will be open to trying an alternative. You will be suprpise by how powerful such a simple tool is. The more you talk in meetings, the more you need to try these.