Definition:
A “Meeting Cuckoo” is a manager or project lead who, upon being invited to another team’s meeting, appropriates the discussion to prioritize or promote their own project’s agenda.
Explanation:
Companies often encourage cross-functional collaboration for transparency, efficiency, and resource sharing. In this context, managers or project leads may be invited to attend meetings they are not directly involved with, especially if a topic under discussion overlaps with their own project. Ideally, such invitations serve to streamline communication and ensure all stakeholders have a clear understanding of progress, challenges, and resource allocations.
However, when a Meeting Cuckoo joins a meeting, they will derail its original purpose by redirecting attention to their own priorities. They might use the meeting’s time, resources, and focus to further their projects objectives, rather than contributing value to the host project. This behaviour can cause frustration, lead to conflicts, and dilute the primary agenda of the meeting.
To avoid such issues, a recommended best practice is to make sure they raise items only related to their project only after the main agenda items have been addressed. For instance a well behaved Cuckoo could say, “To save me chasing you separately, could I ask for an update on “Project X” once we’ve covered the main agenda?” This approach ensures that the meeting’s original objectives are preserved while still acknowledging and addressing the visitor’s needs.
Disclaimer: As always these posts are not aimed at anyone client or employer and are just my personal observations over a lifetime of dealing with both management and frontline associates.