Podcasts Culture Life is Work Virtual Meetings

Virtual Meetings

Published: July 21, 2020, 5 a.m.

Life Is Work - Ep 21 - Virtual Meetings

  • Area of Work: Meaningful Meetings

Co-hosts, Producers:

Danielle Stenger 
Cameron Navarro, LMSW 

 

Mel’s Mindful Minute: 33:35

Melanie Wilmoth Navarro, LMSW, RYT, TSTSY-F

Owner, Lead Facilitator - Whole Moon Wellness

wholemoonwellness@gmail.com

 

Contact Info:

Website

Email

Twitter 

Instagram

 

Music:

Intro - King Must Die, by Picnic Lightning

MMM Transitions - Sur, by Picnic Lightning

Outro - Pa’lante, by Hurray for the Riff Raff

 

Virtual Meetings

  • RESULT: To talk through different tools we can use to continue to have meaningful connection and meaningful meetings during COVID times (and any other time that calls for a virtual meeting!)
  • Camnecdote - Zoom setup on blank wall

Protein - Main Event - Topic d’jour

  • Virtual Meetings - we are living at work
  • Space to zoom
    • Issue #1 - You are at home so now we can meet all the time!
      • No.
      • Tool: Boundaries (see previous episode)
        • Use questions here - what would you like to talk through? 
    • Issue #2 - Camera on? Camera off?
      • Tool: Result
        • Be intentional about voicing the result of your mtg
        • If it is informational, wouldn’t worry about the cameras so much unless you are curious how group will receive information
        • If it is brainstorming, encourage cameras on, but it is always a choice!
        • Depending on the platform, many times video conferencing is a window into peoples’ homes that you previously would not have access to
          • Create & respect boundaries
          • Combo of our recommendations + great article, “Working from Home While Black” by Laura Morgan Roberts and Courtney L. McCluney

            • Have a wall as your backdrop if that makes you feel most comfortable
              • Consider having a virtual background that everyone uses to level the playing field
            • Turn your camera off if you’re changing locations
              • Allow others to do this as well without singling them out 
            • Schedule meetings in advance to allow people to prepare for their “work” encounters
            • Encourage workers to share their contributions by phone or email, 
            • End meetings promptly (respectful of time)
            •  Allowing employees the option to turn their cameras off during meetings will also demonstrate respect of their personal boundaries, and extend the agility needed for underrepresented employees to benefit from flexible work arrangements.
            • Team Members - encourage each other to join meetings using mediums that are based personal comfort level and accessibility that day.
  • Issue #3: Talking over one another
    • Tool: Agreements
    • See camera on/off encouragement
    • Raise hands if camera on, otherwise put that you’d like to speak in the chat
    • For those who call in, encourage chat function or text
  • Issue #4 - Ensuring everyone is heard (even once you move past the talking over one another issue)
    • Tool: Charting
    • Read what you have written if its within a powerpoint and hard to see
  • Other Video Conferencing Notes
    • Normalizing humanity (Kids! Pets! Grocery deliveries!)

Mel’s Mindful Minute: 33:35

  • ??????

We Are Always Students

Sharing is Self-Caring

  • Self-care
    • Make choices on how you engage on your virtual meetings with intentionality
      • Video on/off
  • Community-care
    • Ask how your team members are doing
      • Can some meetings be one on one calls? Emails? How do they prefer to connect right now and why?
      • If possible, collectively as a group discuss which meetings need to happen, and if so, how they need to happen
  • Systems-care
    • Reflect on the challenges our systems have encountered with this shift to virtual.
      • Who has access to virtual work spaces?
      • Which spaces are adjusting quickly, and which are not? Why?

Reach Out!