Need help or advice? Go to the Genial Host. Always happy to help, often to be found chatting with Harmony Seeker, the Genial Host welcomes distractions; they brighten up a boring day.
They love meetings, workshops, training days, anything that takes them away from the pile of work on the desk for a few hours. Often to be heard saying “let’s do lunch” or “let’s meet for a coffee and discuss it” and suddenly a 5 minute discussion turns into a 30 minute chat over coffee (plus the time it takes to get there and back).
Meetings tend not to have agendas – that’s all a bit stuffy and formal. After all, meetings are a great way for people to catch up with each other, aren’t they?
If you have a Genial Host in your gang, they can be very distracting; you might need to bring out the big guns of assertiveness! If they come into your office, stand up, fail to offer them a coffee and be careful not to build too much rapport during the conversation and the chances are, they’ll soon tire of you and leave you to get on with your day.
Social interaction is important – teamwork can make a big difference in achieving the task, but the Genial Host takes it to extremes. If you feel that you’re required to attend too many meetings, perhaps you’re dealing with a Genial Host.
If you think you might be the Genial Host in your gang then maybe it’s worth noticing the body language of those around you – is your attention really welcome? And as for your own workload, how are you doing? Struggling with a full inbox (physical or electronic)? Tot up how much time you spend away from your desk and work on gradually reducing it. Set time limits and draw up agendas for meetings that you call and stick to them. Allocate certain times during the day for more social interaction and stick to them. Set specific tasks to achieve each day and, yes, you’ve guessed it, stick to them!
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