You know you are on the way to success when individual team members are able to see both the pros and the cons of a proposed solution. This, in fact, shows individuals are growing and beginning to think like effective managers. All too often people take ownership of a suggestion and allow their self-esteem to be affected by the results. They take acceptance or rejection of their solution personally. When team members take joy in coming up with a solution that works, then meetings are beginning to work.
Listening skills are essential to a supervisor conducting a meeting.
Often, much of what is said in a meeting is not heard because participants are more eager to express their own points rather than in listening. Workers may be encouraged to jot down ideas while the other person is talking rather than interrupting. It can be an effective practice to record ideas coming out of a meeting. Clearly, the supervisor does not have to agree with all the ideas, but if they are documented he can follow through and decide whether the ideas will be implemented now, delayed, or tabled indefinitely. Workers are more likely to participate if they feel their ideas are given serious consideration.