Universities love a meeting – I cannot even begin to count the hours I have spent in them. They are so routinised that most of us just turn up, inured to the hours they take of our time and treat them as business-as-usual. Yet meetings provide great opportunities for increasing our visibility and reputation if we take a moment to consider how we can get the best out of them. Where we sit is one of those considerations.
Until late into my career I was not aware that it matters where you sit in a meeting. It was only when I went on a leadership course and we did an exercise on committee meeting behaviours that I understood this. The exercise introduced me to the four power seats in any physical meeting. Until then I would turn up and take any seat going or, if I was late, any seat remaining. What I learnt was a discovery.
Here is my short guide:
The Most Powerful Seat in the Room
It is no mistake that the standard boardroom or committee room table is rectangular. This arrangement supports a layout where it is clear to everyone who the most powerful person is in the room. This is the person who sits at the head of the table. And this is, of course, where the Chair usually sits.
Sitting at the head of a table provides a view of the door and the entire room as a whole. It provides the all-seeing eye that the Chair needs to facilitate the meeting. For most of us, that seat is already taken.
In the very many meetings I have attended, in rooms large and small, with all kinds of table layouts, the standard Board Room layout is often circumvented. At one university where I worked, the Senate meetings were so packed with everyone sitting cheek by jowl – at the table or in any other location they could cram a chair. This meant that the head of the table seat was often occupied by the time the VC arrived to chair the meeting and he, like everyone else, had to squeeze in a remaining place. Not that he liked it. In every meeting he complained that he could not see everyone and this impeded his Chairing.
You may not, therefore, be in a meeting with the ‘standard’ layout. However, it remains the case that as the Chair is, formally at least, the most powerful person in the room, it is where you sit in relation to her that matters.
Position of Opposition
The seat opposite the Chair is the second power position. From here you are in the Chair’s direct line of sight and so can more easily get her attention. It’s a good seat to choose if you have a lot to say or want to increase your visibility. Often this seat is reserved for visitors to the meeting who need to pop in to present a specific agenda item. It is certainly the place to sit if you want to be noticed.
Because it is opposite the Chair, this position is often seen as a location from where you can express disagreement or contradict what’s being said. However, beware. It can also be used quite deliberately to confront the occupant.
In one university, we had what were known colloquially as ‘challenge meetings’. These were held during the annual financial planning rounds with departments. Heads of department came in turn to present their plans, and their bids, for financial support for the coming year. The Chair always insisted this seat was reserved for each visiting head of department. His reason? Because he could look directly into their eyes – the better able to flush out the occupant’s hubris. Or, as he put it more directly – their lies!
Either Side of the Chair
The seats on either side of the Chair are as visible to everyone as the Chair’s. They also have the advantage of being close to the ear of the Chair. This means that you can quietly draw their attention to specific issues or subtly influence their thinking.
Sitting either side of the Chair implies that you are her allies and are there to support her. This is why these seats are also those often occupied by the administrative support for the committee.
Classically, the seat on the right hand of the Chair is seen as second in command – hence the phrase ‘right hand man’ (sic). The left-hand seat is seen as the seat of the rising star. Choose these seats if you want to be portray that impression or indeed if you are one of these people!
All other seats
The other seats in a committee meeting give you the least, and even no, visibility. There are, though, still ‘tactical’ seats that you can choose. For example, you may want to sit between someone you know who opposes your views and the Chair. In doing so this person has to talk over or through you to reach the Chair’s ear. Or you may wish to sit opposite them as you will then be in their line of sight.
There are also times when you don’t want to be seen or heard. This might be when you are new to a meeting and want to take some time to take stock or there is a hot topic issue and you are still weighing up your position. If so, choosing a seat that is away from the Chair is a good option.
Most of us are advised that we should give some thought to what we want to say at committee meetings. This is sound advice. However, next time you go to a meeting also give some thought to where you sit. It will help you get your point across in the ways that you intend.
Christina Hughes is a Professor of Women and Gender Studies and Founder and CEO of Women-Space Leadership Limited. You can find out more about her here.
