The Side-Ways Participant

I was staring at the screen, aghast at what I was seeing.

And yet, it didn't surprise me, in the least.

The woman attending the training was clearly double-booked.

I was looking at the side of her face, while she was looking at another screen in an animated conversation with someone else.

Every once in a while she would look our way, but then turn back to her other screen.

She didn't even hide it.
Her camera was on.

As I was just shadowing the session, there wasn't much I could do.

I didn't even realize double-booking yourself was a thing until a few months ago, when a participant in a book circle mentioned it.

Yet, I see how possible and plausible it is.

You're invited to a meeting where you are obligated to be there (or you believe you're obligated to be there), but you know that it won't be engaging, and you know that you won't have a voice.

While that meeting is going on, you attend another meeting where you will, perhaps, be engaged.

I see multiple reasons for this phenomenon:

1) People aren't comfortable declining an invitation to a meeting, so they say yes, even though it won't be meaningful or motivating.

2) People believe that more is better, and that productivity is the hallmark of being a good employee, so they double-book themselves in an effort to get more done in less time.

3) Many people have multiple screens these days, and are working remotely, so technology has made this possible for people to "be in 2 places at once."

4) When it comes to some standard corporate trainings, employees just have to show up and be marked present to receive the certificate that they attended the training. It doesn't matter if their camera and microphone were off the entire time. As long as they were there, they get checked off.

It's this last one that boggles my mind the most -- the fact that companies pay millions of dollars for trainings where people aren't even engaged.

I find there to be a contradiction in that organizations want engaged employees, yet they don't offer them engaged learning opportunities.

I remember one of my very first book circles when someone said, "At least when I come here, I know I won't fall asleep!"

It's so true.

I pride myself on creating highly engaged, experiential learning opportunities, even remotely.

In the 5 years that I have been leading book circles, I have never come across a side-ways participant.

Have you ever double-booked yourself? Have you ever experienced a double-booked person in a meeting, training, or workshop?

Originally posted on LinkedIn with comments.

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