Lucia Stein* says Elon Musk recommends walking out of bad meetings, rule-breaking and sidestepping the chain of command, but is that really sound advice for ordinary workers?
Photo: Daria Shevtsova
Ever sat through a really bad meeting or one that just went on forever?
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk suggests you should: Just. Walk. Out.
The advice, along with other recommendations including avoiding/cancelling large meetings unless you’re there to provide value, sidestepping the chain of command or using common sense instead of following the organisation’s rules, was included in a leaked email to Tesla’s contractors, published by website Elektrek.
Mr Musk called for a crackdown on performance and put forward some “productivity recommendations”, arguing contractors should just drop out “as soon as it’s obvious you aren’t adding value”.
“It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time,” he said.
Sounds easy enough.
And it’s not just the advice of one billionaire, with US President, Donald Trump also threatening to do the same if things don’t go well in his meeting with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
But is that really sound advice for non-billionaires or those of us not working at Tesla?
And would anyone actually follow through with it?
We spoke to an expert for their tips on how to handle meetings and improve your productivity at work.
Don’t walk out of meetings. Be strategic and speak up
That’s the advice from Dr Libby Sander, who is a Bond University Assistant Professor of organisational behaviour.
“It might not make you very popular with your boss or your colleagues [and is] probably not the best move politically,” she said.
She says try “influencing the meeting instead” or get in ahead of time to make sure there is a set of discussion points and the meeting is scheduled for the right time of day.
“Our brain works best at different times of the day, so in the morning it should be more analytical, more focused,” she said.
“In the afternoon it should be more administrative, if it’s a meeting about the kitchen coffee supply for example, and later in the afternoon, creativity is best for many people when there is a little bit of distraction but not too much.”
Or try avoiding them when you can
But she agrees with Mr Musk’s point about avoiding unnecessary meetings or ones that you know will go on for far too long.
Just remember that it doesn’t reflect well if you miss all of them.
So think about what meetings you can afford to miss and what ones you should attend.
Sometimes, you might have to waste two hours in a meeting to save face.
And, as for speaking up when a meeting goes off topic or is going on for too long, Dr Sander says go right ahead.
“The person who’s running the meeting should absolutely keep things on track and direct people back to the main conversation if they’re going on for too long,” she said.
If you’re not the facilitator and are comfortable with speaking up, find a way to politely steer the conversation back.
Dr Sander also suggests:
- Try a stand-up meeting to change things up and keep people engaged.
- Get involved in the discussion or decision-making so that you’re not drifting off.
How you can address other work issues
According to Mr Musk, communication should travel via the shortest path necessary to get the job done, not through the “chain of command”.
He even threatened to fire anyone who “attempts to enforce it”.
However, Dr Sander says there are plenty of situations where ignoring the chain of command is “disastrous”.
“Think media organisations, public safety and health considerations where [ignoring the chain of command] would not be a great idea at all,” she said.
Dr Sander acknowledges “unnecessary bureaucracy” is a problem and there are some organisations where “asking for forgiveness rather than permission” might help get the job done quicker.
“You just have to apply very good judgement and consider the risks,” she said.
In most cases, if you think something is wrong with the system, raise it with your manager.
“Find out what you can stop doing in the organisation that might be hampering your productivity and work on ways to fix it,” she said.
Don’t use nonsense words in the workplace
It seems obvious: don’t use jargon that people in your workplace probably won’t understand.
But Mr Musk raises the point that “in general, anything that requires an explanation inhibits communication”.
Dr Sander agrees, saying jargon can become a bit of joke.
She recommends spending some time thinking about how you can best explain terms or talk about a particular issue before communicating with people.
It might seem like a waste of your time, but it will save you in the long run.
“Talk normally … some people might not be comfortable asking you to explain something or feel it’s something they’re expected to understand and they’ll look bad if they don’t,” she said.
“So they’ll go away not knowing what’s going on and the job ends up not getting done effectively.”
* Lucia Stein is a digital producer at ABC National News Online. She tweets at @luciastein_.
This article first appeared at www.abc.net.au.
