Every meeting has its obstacles

Difficult people can create havoc in a specific situation, like at a meeting. I recently attended a meeting that lasted several hours and witnessed several types of difficult people in action. Bear in mind that many of us may display some of these characteristics at times and that some of these behaviors may at times be appropriate and helpful.

During any given meeting, you may see:

The Orator – He loves to hear himself talk and feels that “pearls of wisdom” flow through his lips. Coaching the Orator to stay within the boundaries of a written agenda with its time boundaries can make it possible to confine this individual’s verbiage to acceptable levels.

The Comedian – This individual may joke, make light of everything and interject humor so profusely that it is difficult to keep the group focused. Letting the Comedian know that his efforts are counterproductive may help modify the behavior. If that doesn’t work, lack of approval from other group members often decreases this behavior.

The Gladiator – Gladiators love to fight and argue and frequently become the devil’s advocate. Letting them know their thoughts are appreciated, but not necessarily agreed with, may help the group move toward consensus and completion of the agenda.

The Super Agreeable – This individual never takes a stand and his opinion is mercurial. His need for approval and fear of rejection makes it difficult to count on him at decision-making time. He will usually try to stay on the side lines until he can see which way the wind is blowing. Then, he will jump toward the majority side of the issue. Coaching this individual to form his own opinion can, over a period of time, make him a more valuable part of the group decision-making process.

The Analyst – Analysts love details. They tend to steer the meeting toward dissecting everything, and are usually more interested in the part than the whole. They make good committee members but can’t be counted on as “big picture” thinkers. First cousin to the Analyst is the Perfectionist who tries to steer the meeting toward crossing every “T” and dotting every “I”. They have their place at times, but can land the meeting in a pot of molasses without guidance and direction.

The Daydreamer – He tends to doodle, stare into space, and have no earthly idea what is going on in the meeting. Hopefully, his distraction is not chronic, but if the apparent lack of concentration persists then taking him aside and asking what might make the discussion more relevant would be helpful.

The Dictator – If he is not the chairperson, he aspires to be. He often associates leadership with control, and once in command he can become arbitrary and difficult to dissuade from the belief that he has all the answers and needs to make all the decisions. Hopefully the electoral process can keep this individual from continuing to rule forever. He sometimes relaxes after he ceases feeling threatened and can then move toward effective leadership.

The Open Range Cowboy – This individual hates fences and boundaries. If given the opportunity, this member will let the conversation drift into any direction. A short meeting for this drifter can be half of the day as he has little need for closure.

Analyze your own behavior in a meeting and see if you can improve your performance as a group member by not settling into any of the above molds. By observing others in future meetings you can improve communication by crediting them with contribution or correcting their behavior to improve lack of contribution.

Copyright c 1990 Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D.