The most valuable meetings co-create joint sensemaking. These need to be curated to produce level three meetings that disrupt the familiar to get to a new future.
Level one meetings are mostly one-way presentations. There may be some time for questions and answers, but presenters either are telling, selling or testing their ideas. If you must do this, at least follow five steps to turn wasteful meetings into drivers of success.
Level two meetings involve two-way conversations. These are a better way for most and encourage people to consult on the ideas. The key here is to forego presentations for conversations.
Level three meetings are all about joint sensemaking. This is required for people to co-create solutions to the most pressing problems or ways to capitalize on opportunities.
Gulati et al describe how the other Fukushima plant survived through joint sensemaking:
...adaptive behavior in which understanding and experience shape each other. We humans are attached to our expectations--we cling to the familiar. But a crisis disrupts the familiar. When past experience doesn't explain the current condition, we must revise our interpretation of events and our response to them. Bit by bit, we clarify an uncertain reality through action and subsequent reflection.
Curating
Curators think about ways to disrupt the familiar. Susan Kendzulak in "on Curating an Art Show" discusses the need for "intriguing juxtapositions between art works" to "create an interesting dialogue amongst the works and the audience".
A good example of this is the current exhibit at the Tate Modern in London and how curator Fiontan Moran designed a
comprehensive retrospective of Malevich.... set against a really interesting time in Russian history (early 1900s) ... a range of paintings in different styles, architectural designs and models, set and costume designs, plus a mini retrospective of his drawings ...brings up a range of questions about art and how it relates to society and ideas of modernism.
The Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art's curator, Ted Decker goes further to say that "An exhibition is idea-driven thesis and a curator's job is to find art to prove it."
Curating CEO Connection Convention
This is the approach we're taking for the upcoming CEO Connection Mid-Market Convention. We're trying to set up an intriguing juxtaposition of inputs in line with the mission:
To bring together the leadership of the mid-market, the best thinkers of academia and business, and senior government officials to share ideas, help each other and change the world.
Curating HATCH
The world needs three types of leaders: artistic, scientific and interpersonal. HATCH's Yarrow Kraner brings them all together in one place and "fills immersive environments with provocative ideas" to "activate creativity to HATCH a better world."
Founded 10 years ago as an annual four day "think-tank meets summer camp;" a retreat gifted to 100 curated creators and doers across a range of disciplines. Actively designed to stimulate new thinking and lifelong collaborations.
BRAVE Curating of Meetings
Let's juxtapose curating and BRAVE leadership in a framework for creating level three meetings with joint sensemaking.
Environment - where play: context
•Understand the meeting's place in the broader journey as a point along the ever-evolving path.
Values - what matters: purpose & principles
•Align around a single objective: the change to make/problem to solve.
Attitude - how win in meeting (approach/posture)
•Lead with a hypothesis re new wisdom: theme/high concept - master narrative.
•Set up an intriguing juxtaposition of inputs to create dialogue - what.
Relationships - how connect people and ideas in the meeting
•Suggest pre-work to prompt thinking in advance.
•Clarify expectations for learning, contributions and decisions by item.
•Enable joint interpretation and sensemaking - so what.
Behavior - what impact coming out of the meeting
•Lock-in decisions and actions - now what.
•Follow through and prepare for the next step in the journey.
Sometimes a normal meeting can't deliver what the situation demands. Then you need to curate a level three meeting. Now you know how.