Is anyone out there scratching your head trying to remember the last time you were in a “strategy meeting”?  For most readers of this blog, the problem is not that you are rarely in a strategic situation, but that you probably don’t recognize it as often as you should.

What qualifies as a “strategic” meeting?  When we are talking about or deciding on a substantive direction or outcome.  When we are discussing our own identity.  When the stakes are very high, either for us personally or for the organization.  All of these fit my definition of strategy. 

I was in a strategy meeting back in January a few months ago.  I remember a series of strategy meetings I chaired during a series of months over fifteen years ago.   I have learned to identify strategy in meetings even when I expected the predominant focus to be on operational or tactical issues.  That’s really an important point.  Ask yourself:  what is the purpose of this meeting?  Are we dealing mostly with strategy or with tactics?

Patrick Lencioni has written a powerful book about meetings called Death by Meeting.  I highly recommend it.  It applies more generally to different kinds of meetings, but it warrants a close reading anyway.  Lencioni says instead of avoiding conflict, we should seek out the right kind of conflict in meetings that matter.  He distinguishes between destructive interpersonal conflict where people are focused on personal hurts, sensitivities or hidden agendas and healthy, constructive ideological conflict where we disagree over assumptions or approaches and we discuss these openly. 

Dan Bobinski shares three key questions you can ask to keep things on track in a strategy meeting:  1. What results do we want from this action?  2. What must we do to achieve those results?  3. What knowledge, skills, or attitudes must we have/acquire to do those things?

Here’s a tip for you to consider about the next meeting you are part of:  Look for whether there is a connection to something you care deeply about.  Ask more questions about “what” is the aim or objective until it is clear to everyone before allowing the conversation to steer toward questions of “how” to get to the desired end goal.  If you find that you really don’t belong at this meeting, as soon as possible create a way to delegate, disengage or dismiss yourself from the meeting and choose to focus on something that is a higher priority for you and the organizaiton.