Pondering some messages... both the implied, the implicit, the unintended, and the overt.
What are the messages when a manager calls a meeting and schedules it for an hour... then repeatedly states that they have nothing really to talk about, and after the group does the appropriate amount of beating the horse, the manager states "I will give you back 20 minutes."?
One overt message is the meeting is over you are dismissed and you have 20 minutes returned to you to get real work accomplished.
Another implied message is that your time is not your own and now the manager is returning their time, time they require of you to attend their meeting, is now returned to you so do with it as they have done - spend it well. [Because anyone delusional enough to think that time belongs to someone, is just off enough to believe that one can spend time.]
The unintended message - the part that rubs me raw; like when manager's refer to people as resources (typically implying fungible), is the message that this 20 minutes being returned to the subordinate is a good will gesture, a favor to be returned to the manager in the future, a quid pro quo.
What about the 40 minutes of my life that you just wasted because you didn't have the courage to cancel the meeting? Because you are bored, lonely, needing social reinforcement that your importance is validated you felt holding a meeting was much more important than anything any of us could have decide to do with our lives.
OK - WOW - that's some feelings coming out... Is TIME a resource? Do you treat it as precious?
What constructive advice can you give this manager?
See Also:
Mandatory Stand-up meetings; an Indication of What?
What are the messages when a manager calls a meeting and schedules it for an hour... then repeatedly states that they have nothing really to talk about, and after the group does the appropriate amount of beating the horse, the manager states "I will give you back 20 minutes."?
One overt message is the meeting is over you are dismissed and you have 20 minutes returned to you to get real work accomplished.
Another implied message is that your time is not your own and now the manager is returning their time, time they require of you to attend their meeting, is now returned to you so do with it as they have done - spend it well. [Because anyone delusional enough to think that time belongs to someone, is just off enough to believe that one can spend time.]
The unintended message - the part that rubs me raw; like when manager's refer to people as resources (typically implying fungible), is the message that this 20 minutes being returned to the subordinate is a good will gesture, a favor to be returned to the manager in the future, a quid pro quo.
What about the 40 minutes of my life that you just wasted because you didn't have the courage to cancel the meeting? Because you are bored, lonely, needing social reinforcement that your importance is validated you felt holding a meeting was much more important than anything any of us could have decide to do with our lives.
OK - WOW - that's some feelings coming out... Is TIME a resource? Do you treat it as precious?
resource - a stock or supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organization in order to function effectively.
What constructive advice can you give this manager?
See Also:
Mandatory Stand-up meetings; an Indication of What?
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