Better meetings by breaking the rules

The adoption of more participative styles of management is one of our current goals: they are preferable because they enable the subordinate to improve his contribution and thereby gain more satisfaction in his job. By contrast authoritarian styles of management are limiting to the subordinate. To abandon an authoritarian style and substitute for it a more participative style is not easy. It has to be carried out in all activities which involve inter‐personal relationships. In this article Mr B Maude describes what is involved in changing from an authoritarian approach to the participative approach in the business of running a meeting.