You’re sitting in that Monday morning business meeting with a dozen of colleagues and your boss to ‘align’ on the new marketing strategy… and it’s so tempting to just sit back and let the others do the talking and decision making.
But when you’re trying to be your best, not contributing is not acceptable. Even worse is holding the flag in the wind and throwing in little meaningless comments – scratching the back of your boss with silent hopes for a promotion.You would be better off not attending.
If you’re sitting in that meeting, you’re there for a reason; and you better be useful.
Do your homework upfront and brainstorm ideas to move the project forward. All that is needed to be useful is your unique, original thought. No one else in that meeting room is able to see the world quite like you, with your cognitive lenses and your memory-bank of experiences. So share it. Voice your concerns, ideas and visions. This takes courage and bravery, but it is the only way to be useful. You’ll experience the joy of finding a sense of purpose in your work, and have fun doing it.
This doesn’t just apply to meetings. There are many family situations, social situations, team events where it seems so much easier to glide under the radar and let others think for you. But do we really want to live life as a silent add-on? An accessory to what’s happening, rather than someone actively helping it move forward? Next time you find yourself in one of these scenarios, form a genuine intent to contribute your original thoughts and ideas, prepare, do your homework, speak up and…
Be Useful
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