Evidence for a Needs-Based Model of Organizational-Meeting Leadership

The aim of this study was to investigate whether an association exists between 19 meeting-leader behaviors of the type that tend to meet attendee needs and attendee ratings of satisfaction with the meeting and productivity of the meeting. An observer blind to the ratings of attendees recorded which of 19 needs-related behaviors the leader showed and then collected anonymous meeting-rating data from the attendees. The study included data from 60 organizational meetings and a total of 401 meeting attendees. The results indicate that the overall level of leader behaviors shown, out of 19 different behaviors observed, was significantly associated with attendee ratings of the meeting. Several individual meeting-leader behaviors showed significant associations with ratings of either meeting productivity or satisfaction with the meeting: arriving before the start of the meeting, speaking succinctly, moving the meeting along, encouraging participation, encouraging decision making, paraphrasing someone’s, smiling more than once, saying something positive about the future of the organization, and summarizing the decisions made. The results provide preliminary support for a new needs-based model of organizational-meeting leadership. The results also suggest specific leader behaviors that may contribute to meeting productivity and satisfaction.