Reverse Flow meetings – the Benefits

The Reverse-Flow meeting format is the key process we use to help all company members to create strategies that will result in improvement.

  • Enhances communication by providing employees with a safe environment where they can be heard, openly and honestly. Having and supporting such an environment is essential for management to identify organizational problems and build trust with their employees.
  • Involves employees in creating improvements. Employees have the right to ask for change and to participate in creating improvements. Employees begin to learn how to operate and manage the business. Consequently, their attitude toward management improves, along with a change in how they perceive their own role in the success of the company.
  • Identifies barriers to performance. Management needs this information from the employees before problems become serious. Especially before they hear it from the customer.
  • Provides the mechanism to remove those barriers to performance. Management and employees work as a team to implement solutions instead of working in an “Us vs. Them” environment.
  • Provides better solutions to solve real problems. Management is often unaware about issues that affect the workplace, employees, and even customers.

Too often incorrect information is the basis for management’s decisions.

Every day, the employees use the systems defined by management. This gives employees a truer picture of the problems. Consequently, they are ideally suited to develop solutions that lead to improvements.

During monthly meetings, team members offer ideas and identify issues or barriers to performance. Typically, many ideas and issues surface and the monthly format insures accountability and new insights.

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I’ve read a lot of books.

 Some with interesting methods for improvement in business or self.

When I find a book that you should read, I’ll share.

Here is one.

The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player

John C. Maxwell

This past July I reported on a book by Patrick Lencioni, which focused on Teamwork it was titled ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’.

I’ve used that book in helping a number of the management teams understand the importance of Trust, Healthy Conflict, Commitment, Accountability and Focusing on Results.’

How, about seventeen more areas on which to focus.

Actually, John C. Maxwell adds only fifteen different qualities (he also believes in Commitment and Results) but instead of setting his ideas in the context of a story his format is this:

  1. A few quotations from notable sources.
  • A short story concerning a famous person relating to the specific quality.
  • ‘Fleshing it out’ – John adds his thoughts.
  • Bringing it home – specific methods you could use to implement this quality.

I’ve used this book also, many times, with management teams.

Maxwell is an interesting and pithy writer, and his observations are always on the mark.

Here are the seventeen:

  1. Adaptable
  • Collaborative
  • Committed
  • Communicative
  • Competent
  • Dependable
  • Disciplined
  • Enlarging
  • Enthusiastic
  1.  Intentional
  1. Mission Conscious
  1. Prepared
  1. Relational
  1. Self-Improving
  1. Selfless
  1. Solution Oriented
  1. Tenacious

Can you guess which famous character would be the example for which quality?

  • Quincy Jones
  • Jonas Salk
  • Christopher Reeve
  • King Edward I
  • William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson
  • Mary Hays aka. Molly Pitcher
  • Ronald Reagan
  • John Walsh

Can’t connect the person with the quality?

Guess you will have to read the book.

It’s worth it!

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