How to Win in High-Stakes Meetings

Own your energy, and you will prevail.

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Survival Tool#14: Own High-Stakes Meetings

I’ll never forget the face staring at me from the screen.

The narrowed eyes.

The pursed lips.

The barely concealed snarl.

It was a mask of such hostility that it was hard to believe that this was a meeting taking place in the context of the everyday operations of a publicly-listed corporation — and not the dungeons of a Cold War police state.

This was a company supposedly founded on the values of civility and respect.

But the veneer soon peels away.

Toxic co-workers and managers may have enough sense (though not always) to use professional-sounding words.

But the aggression they can convey with their body language can knock you back.

Prepare yourself properly, however, and you’ll find that the leering faces hide fragile characters that will relent when you stay rooted in your core.

How To Stay Centred

During the most intense period of my toxic workplace ordeal, I got to know the sense of dread that builds before a confrontational meeting well:

• Appraisals.

• Team meetings (I use the word “team” with some reluctance, since in a toxic workplace, there is never any true esprit de corps).

• Meetings with higher-ups that would mysteriously appear in my calendar, with no explanation or agenda.

• Discussions about my (short-lived) future in the company.

I learned through these encounters that how I was being was more important than anything I said.

There were a few principles that proved invaluable: