personality types in meetings

Positives, Negatives and Neutrals
It is common for meeting partners to assume certain roles. Usually they are simply responding to the other participants and the issues under discussion in a way that is consistent with the personality types in meetings. These roles tend to be from one of three broad groups. Those who are positive, those who are negative and a third group who are neutrals. Not all of the different roles will be present at every meeting you attend and sometimes one person may adopt several different roles in a single meeting. By understanding the types of role that participants adopt you will be better placed to understand their motivation. This should enable you to deal with them more effectively.

The 4 Positive Roles
There are four identifiable roles, which can help you to keep the meeting on track and maintain a productive and positive atmosphere, a description of each follows:

The Initiator has initiative and imagination. They are often good at creative thinking and generating ideas. They are also good at getting things started, hence the name. Initiators tend to have large egos and require recognition for their contributions. Look to them for ideas but don't expect them to pay attention to detail.

The Reconciler is often older than other participants and is good at defusing conflict, often before anyone else has realized that it is building up. The reconciler may use humor or clarification to avoid confrontation or may emphasize the importance of the main objective, in the light of smaller issues causing tension. Always seek to keep them involved, especially if you detect a rise in tension.

The Pathfinder is good at refocusing the attention of the group, especially if the meeting is getting bogged down. Whilst not as creative as the initiator this individual is less likely to get carried away by new ideas. If you are leading the meeting, try a pep talk with them beforehand - they may help keep the meeting progressing in line with its agenda.

The Supporter tends to have something supportive to say about almost any issue. Always tends to see the positive side of any case and therefore may find tough decisions very difficult. The Supporter can be a useful ally, especially early on, before this supportive trait is recognized by others.

The 3 Negative Roles
There are three identifiable roles, which can disrupt the meeting and prevent it from achieving its goals. A description of each follows:

The Aggressor tends to question and challenge everything, criticizes ideas and directs personal remarks at other attendees. Good at highlighting problems, both real and perceived, but unlikely to offer any solutions. Try to involve them early on, so that they feel included but also try to involve a reconciler - to defuse any potentially contentious remarks.

The Interrupter constantly interrupts others when they are speaking. This may be because they disagree with what's being said or because they feel they have a better idea. It may just be that they like hogging the limelight or like hearing their own voice. If you recognize this trait then the best strategy is to stop them and point out that someone else was talking and that they should be allowed to finish, before handing back to the original speaker.

The Hijacker is out to further their own personal agenda, regardless of the consequences for the overall meeting. An attempt to hijack a meeting may indicate a serious issue that needs to be addressed, in which case the chairperson should consider how best that issue could be considered. A simple way to protect a meeting from the hijacker is to challenge them directly, by asking what the relevance of a suspicious remark has in the context of the formal agenda.

In terms of meetings you will find that about 80% of your problems will originate with about 20% of the participants. You should now be better placed to identify this small minority of disruptive participants at a meeting and take appropriate action to prevent them from having a negative impact. Even if you risk upsetting these individuals, remember that you will almost certainly have the productive majority firmly behind you.

The 4 Neutral Roles
There are four further identifiable roles, which need to be identified and controlled. There is usually no intent to have an adverse effect on the meeting but if they are not managed carefully, their influence is likely to be negative. A description of each follows:

The Silent Participant sits through a meeting without making an audible contribution, even though they should have something to say. They should be encouraged to take part, firstly because they should have a contribution to make and secondly because they can make others feel awkward and their silent stance may start to spread. They may be shy and reticent - in which case asking them for their opinion may help. Sometimes they may feel that their opinion would not be valued, in which case the fact that it would, should be clearly stated when seeking their opinion.

The Talker is inclined to talk incessantly, whether or not they have the floor. When not actually addressing the whole meeting they may strike up conversations with those sitting near to them. The time that any individual can spend addressing the whole group obviously needs to be limited and the process of the meeting can be used to control this without need for chastisement. If a talker in constantly chatting away in the background then subtle remarks are often all that's needed, for example saying that you can’t hear the main speaker, and could they repeat the last point.

The Joker - meetings without any humor can become very stuffy and unproductive. Whilst a good sense of humor can be very useful in a meeting, constantly making jokes or playing the fool is not. The joker’s constant search for potentially funny material means that they don't play a productive role and continually distract the other participants. Sometimes there will be a grain of wisdom behind the wisecrack and this can be picked up on to refocus the meeting on the work in hand. The best way to deal with a joker is to have a word with them privately. Often what lies behind the humor is a desire to be popular and if they are chastised in a meeting this may cause them serious embarrassment.

The Instant Expert - some people just have to appear to know everything about any subject they are discussing. They can talk about any subject at great length and will often manipulate conversations in an effort to gain control.

The obvious action might be to challenge what they are saying. However, this often makes them worse as they seek to justify what they've already said. The best course of action is to control them through the process of the meeting, for example by pointing out that others need to have an equal say and time is short.

Tactical Seating
The placement of the participants in a meeting can have a major impact on the outcome. Consider your seating arrangements carefully and, if necessary, draw up a seating plan that will maximize your chances of producing a successful outcome. Tactical seating can help you to gain a degree of control over a meeting. It may also serve to prevent a potentially volatile meeting from becoming acrimonious. Try to split up factions, and avoid sitting people with violently opposed, or very similar, ideas either next to or directly opposite one another. Use your knowledge of the attendees and their opinions when devising the most constructive seating plan. Forceful individuals may choose a powerful position, near the chairperson. If you are chairing the meeting and feel able to influence where people sit, try to persuade the loudest and most outspoken participant to sit opposite you.

Control Positions
Medium sized meetings often adopt a boardroom style layout, with a long rectangular table, chairs down both sides, and the chairperson seated at one end.
An alternative layout for medium sized meetings uses a table that is like an elongated n. Which-ever format is used, the best position for the chairperson is shown, together with other positions that are good for gaining control of the meeting.

If you're seeking to win your point or wish to have the option of gaining control over the meeting at some point then try to sit in one of the control positions. However, if you are chairing the meeting you should already be ideally positioned with respect to control. The classic boardroom table can be ideal if the meeting is focused on a negotiation or confrontation. Here the two sides can be sat on opposite sides with a neutral chairperson either sitting in the middle on one side or at one end of the table. This style can also be useful if you wish to reinforce a sense of hierarchy. This is best done by sitting the chair at the head of the table with the other participants falling in seniority towards the opposite end of the table.

Group Dynamics
Participants sat on the same side of a long table will have difficulty seeing one another, and this will restrict their ability to engage in meaningful discussion. Conversely, participants may over-react to those facing them, or strike up closed conversations. For this reason, it is often a good idea to sit opponents to your favored outcome on the same side but a few seats away from each other. Larger tables can also induce a feeling of being remote from the proceedings and a concern that you might have missed something. This can reduce an individual’s willingness to play a full and active role. A round table tends to be seen as more democratic and should be used for meetings where the aim is to encourage open discussion and the free exchange of ideas. It is also good for brainstorming sessions, as any hierarchical influences are reduced, by the overall feeling of equality. However, any antagonism will be heightened if protagonists are seated facing one another, which is why circular tables often produce the most intense meeting climates. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on what it is that you want to achieve. If you find that round tables have a negative impact on creativity then try using a semicircular layout instead.

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