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So...I am in the awkward position of having been told by my boss (a C-level executive) to "stop or reduce the frequency of these wasteful meetings" - meaning my weekly 30-minute one-on-ones with my direct reports.

I have a total of 14 direct reports, but I have started bringing along one of my directs into a more managerial role and he is doing four O3s with people I used to meet with.  Therefore, I have 10 O3s to accomplish in any given week.  My first question is - is this too many to do every week?  I know that M&M have discussed the topic of when you have too many directs to do meetings weekly, but I am not sure what the answer was on that.  Ten O3s is 5 hours of meeting time and probably 90 minutes of prep time (10 minutes per meeting).  The only other meeting I require of all staff is a weekly staff meeting that is 1 hour long.

My boss is adamant on this - he feels they are wasteful.  I even went so far as to anonymously poll my staff (using PollDaddy) on the importance, usefulness, and frequency of the meetings to them.  The results were significantly in favor of the meetings as they currently exist.  I risk an escalation of problems for me from my boss if I continue to do these meetings as they stand now.

Right now, I am thinking the lesser of two evils is to reduce the frequency to every other week.  This is better than just stopping for sure, but I am still torn.  If I openly defy my boss, that leads to sure trouble.  However, doing less for my employees goes against everything I have learned from Manager Tools and what I know is right.

I am waiting for input!!

bug_girl's picture

wouldn't a High C respond well to actual data documenting the usefulness of these meetings? (your survey)

Do you have other quantifiable items you can share that show that the meetings are not wasteful, but make you all more productive?

That's my read on how to persuade a C, anyway :)

 

jhack's picture

Here's an old thread on this topic (including advice from Mark and the elusive US41):

http://www.manager-tools.com/forums-3441

John Hack

dbobke's picture

When I said C-level executive, I meant he is a C-level (CEO, CFO, COO, etc.) executive in the company - not DISC "C".  Sorry about that confusion.  I would definitely say he is a high D - much like myself.

Thanks for the link to the other thread - that is helpful.  Openly defying is certainly no way to go - I will lose for sure.  Mark's comments were very appropriate to my situation - he is what he is and there is no changing that.  Challenging him with data will likely only tick him off because it will appear as an attempt by me to "defend" my position. And that is clearly not allowed with him.

I think the path is clear - decrease the frequency, call them something else, and find my points of relationship building in other ways.  I have been there almost 6 years and I have had no turnover, so my relationship with my staff is strong.  So I will build on that and make the best of the situation that I have.  Did anyone have any thoughts on the "when is weekly O3s too frequent" question?

Thanks for your thoughts and interest - I will keep checking to see if anyone else has more nuggets of wisdom!