Meetings | Fumitoshi Kato, Dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance
2021.02.09
Whether a talk is long or short—that sort of thing depends on the person. In fact, "old guys" like me should be the ones careful not to drone on with preachy talks. Of course, whether something is long or short varies greatly depending on who you're talking to, where, and about what. The landscape of communication is complex and full of ups and downs. That's why there are times when you should take your time carefully, and other times when a "rough" explanation will suffice.
In any case, we have a lot of meetings. While I understand that's just the way it is given my position, there are days that pass from morning to night entirely in meetings. And for some reason, we've convinced ourselves that meetings are a special time. It's strange how there's even an atmosphere where saying "I have a meeting" seems to excuse you from all sorts of things. Since taking on a role as one of the "heads," I've had more opportunities to chair meetings.
The monthly graduate school meetings usually have about 90 attendees, I suppose. Each time, we have a preliminary meeting beforehand. As the chair, I meet with the faculty member assisting me and the academic affairs staff to go over the overall flow and prepare answers for anticipated questions. We also discuss so-called "landing points," or compromises. Then, on the day of the meeting, at the scheduled time, the faculty members enter the "meeting room" with an electronic chime. Many have their video off, so a grid of names and profile pictures appears before me. After confirming a quorum, the meeting begins. I proceed item by item according to the prepared agenda.
After all, our graduate school champions an interdisciplinary and composite approach. It's only natural that each faculty member reacts differently to the same agenda item. When I try to proceed carefully without rushing, someone says, "We should just go ahead and make a bold decision on that." When I try to decide based on criteria I'm familiar with, I get called out with, "That's not good enough." Just as I think I hear a voice from the speaker, text dances in the chat box.
What are meetings, really? With meetings, no matter how carefully you prepare, unexpected things happen when the time comes. In a physical meeting room, you can read people's expressions, and the atmosphere filling the room can give you clues. I can send a signal with my eyes to the academic affairs staff and get a nod in return. Or a note might be quietly passed to me from behind. Now, Slack functions like an intercom system. I have my notes for running the meeting at hand, the meeting system screen in front of me, and I follow Slack on another PC. Progress can stall in unexpected places, and things can get complicated. Awkward pauses also occur. Sometimes we finish early, but we also (at times significantly) exceed the time everyone has given us. "Should we wrap this up soon?" "Should I take this one back for now?" "Which agenda items can be postponed until next time?" While chairing the meeting, I keep a close eye on the information on Slack. I've gotten used to doing things this way.
When I announce the end of the meeting, the tiled names and images disappear as the screen flickers. Even though we hadn't arranged it beforehand, there have been times when only the assisting faculty member and the academic affairs staff remained in the "meeting room." There, we review the flow of the discussion. I'm exhausted when it's over.
Of course, there are things to improve. But more than anything, I have nothing but gratitude for everyone who is always working busily behind the scenes of the meetings. Since around March of last year, meetings have been held online as a rule, so I've been dealing with meetings through a screen without having had time to get used to running them in a physical meeting room.
I think meetings also have a ceremonial meaning. But we should change the way we conduct meetings where many "participants" just remain silent, trying to read the room and guess intentions. Why do talks become long? Isn't that an opinion on the meeting itself, which proceeds "according to custom"? Who created the way meetings are? How has the way of making decisions been maintained? Fundamental questions and the desire for change cannot possibly be discussed "roughly." Everyone must sincerely contribute their time for these long discussions.