Bizerm?: "Meating"

How many times have you been to a meeting that was nothing more than a disguise to beat up on someone (or everyone)? This is what we call a “meating”. The Bizerm comes from the impression of the people attending the meeting because they feel they are being treated like raw meat.

Meating is typically a result of “chicken” management. A problem arises because an employee broke policy or made a critical mistake. Rather than sit down one-on-one with the culprit, the manger pulls the entire department together to “lay down the law”.

Here is an actual meating that took place in a Rochester Hills business that will remain nameless. Construction on the road in front of the office was creating major traffic jams at quitting time. Catherine decided she would get a head start by pushing out five minutes early. After a few days, management gathered the employees together for a quick team huddle. All employees were told there would be no pushing out early. All employees except Catherine thought to themselves, “This ought to take care of Catherine’s early departures.”

However, Catherine sat in the meating wondering who the others were that were leaving early. No positive result came of the meating.

Disciplinary meetings are obviously required when things get out of hand across a wide range of employees. The purpose of the meeting is to move forward – not to beat people into submission. Focus on a new policy or procedure but to not harp on the mistakes or problems beyond a brief reference to lay the groundwork for the new structure.

About the author:

Rick Weaver has half a century’s experience in leadership development in retailing. He founded Max Impact Corporation, a leadership and business development consultancy company in 2002. His major accomplishments include working himself from stock clerk to director at a Fortune 50 retail chain and building a $40MM+ construction company in under 5 years. Today he works as an Executive Search Consultant with Patrice & Associates matching management talent with the job culture for which they are uniquely wired.