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The effect of meeting design on boardroom dynamics

Physical characteristics

(all aspects of the meeting setting and environment)

Ed Schein: "‘If you want to shift the culture, move the furniture’"

1. The basics: lighting, noise, temperature and refreshments

neither too light nor too dark was seen as important to perceptions of meeting quality. appropriate lighting such that meeting participants do not feel strain throughout the day is important. Natural light better than aritificial.

psychological benefits of having windows in a room, or at the very least, an internal window that creates the effect of having a view outside of one’s immediate environment

The amount of outside noise that might cause a distraction was not found to be found to correlate with meeting quality perceptions.

Complimentary meeting refreshments are seen as good hospitality and therefore create better feelings of comfort and positivity.

Having a variety of caffeinated and decaffeinated options (depending on the time of day) and minimising sugary snacks can have a significant impact on the ability to maintain mental energy levels throughout long meetings

people judged others to be more generous and caring if they were holding a warm cup of coffee but less so if they held an iced coffee.

if you want to encourage cohesiveness in a group around an important key decision, make sure that warm drinks are served just before that point in the agenda.

2. Meeting space - Ensuring that the space is large enough and uncluttered to minimise distractions is one first consideration.

careful consideration of the cultural symbolism in a boardroom should be taken into account (to emphasise cohesion, then pictures of prominent teams could be an option). if a board is not particularly diverse or representative, then pictures of its key stakeholders and other important diverse groupings could be strategically positioned in the boardroom.

Where should the board meeting be based on stakeholder importance, meeting agenda, rotation around sites or any other symbolic consideration?

Physical characteristics

3. Technology use - many technological solutions have been applied to the boardroom to help with meeting and governance functioning (Diligent, virtual meetings).

Need to factor in the downsides of technology : - virtual teams find it much more difficult to build trust than face-to-face teams. virtual teams suffer when they are required to have conversations that are more creative and strategic that need greater interaction.

if virtual board meetings are to be employed, the following may be important:

Directors have face-to-face meetings first to build a personal relationships

Virtual meetings are used as an ad hoc addition built around more predictable face-to-face meetings

Include some more socialisation at the start of the meeting.

Ensure video use to be able to see people as well as hear them to emphasise and humanise

Agree specific ground rules around virtual meetings that may be different from face-to-face meetings

research shows that simply having technology such as mobile phones on a table can reduce levels of trust and concentration

general recommendation would be to limit the use and presence of technology on tables and around the boardroom during meetings to enable better team interaction and focus.

4. Seating dynamics - seating people in certain positions according to their purpose in communication

a. to encourage participation, one should seat the other party next to you so that they are facing the same direction

b. To facilitate direct and open communication, seat the other party across a corner of the desk from you or in another place where that person will be at right angles

c. to take a competitive stand against someone, position that person directly across the table from you

d. in order to block two meeting attendees from being disruptive, the general advice would be to sit one either side of the chair to block their interactions.

position individuals in different seats each time the board meets or to ask them to shift round in positions after every break. This will enable participants to talk to different people in break small talk, perhaps challenge thinking, symbolically keep them on their toes, and mix executives and non-executives to encourage team cohesion.

5. Meeting space arrangement

space must be as flexible as possible so that it increases participants feelings of control and enables changes to suit a board meeting’s different ‘gears’ of monitoring/mentoring, strategising and decision-making.

examples: breaking into smaller groups to sit in with no tables may be useful to encourage more discussion;

standing up around a whiteboard may be chosen to increase creativity.

Table shape - rectangular - denotes status differentials, can create adversity and often make it difficult for directors at the longer sides to have eye contact easily with those on the same side as them

recommendation for cohesion and to reduce status would be to have a circular table to avoid the head of the table effect and to ensure equal eye contact.

tables with soft and curved lines tend to create a space that feels more pleasant and attractive