141
Taking notes
I have to vent. I am the Director of a University Core Facility and we have been hammering out the details with an external Hospital partnership through a series of meetings. In my Core, there is one other faculty member, a laboratory tech, and a contracts specialist (all male) but who all report to me as the Director. The business/financial person from the Hospital just emailed to ask me if I took notes from the meeting. Seriously! I kindly replied to say that the lab tech usually does this and I cc'd the lab tech. Its just annoying how they always ask the woman for her notes.
Happy Friday everyone!
Mom of Green GirlsFinding Myself & not apologizing for it
53
09/22/20 at 3:24PM UTC
I can totally relate, experience this too often in healthcare field.
Trina SchneiderI help forge new markets and build brands
365
09/15/20 at 10:44PM UTC
I would suggest that at the next meeting, you state that "lab tech" will be taking notes, and will have the notes available for all attending by end of next business day for distribution. You set the expectations up front, and there is no confusion as to who will be accountable to the team.
Sara MyersMidwest Professor and Research Administrator
141
09/02/20 at 10:57PM UTC
Good point - I do actually like taking notes!
Trina SchneiderI help forge new markets and build brands
365
11/06/20 at 7:16PM UTC
I like taking my own notes, too. However, to protect your time, and help the lab tech to grown in their role, you need to ensure that the other team members go to the official note taker. The official note taker, can send the notes around for comments (good time to use your notes for clarification or fleshing out a few points), and then send send out a final copy at the end of the week.
ExecCareerExecutive Coach | Women's Leadership
121
09/01/20 at 8:24PM UTC
Ugh! Sorry to hear that, Sara. I love your response, though!
For what it's worth, I do believe that one of the reasons men rely on women for notes is that we're just better at it. Just like girls outperform boys at school, we tend to be better at paying attention, capturing the key ideas, etc.
I heard a high-level executive speak recently about a time when he asked his highest-performing female team member to take notes at a meeting. She was mortified and conveyed to him afterwards that asking her to take the notes undermined her value in front of everyone. He was truly astonished and said that the only reason he asked her is because she's the only one he trusted to do it. Nevertheless, he learned a lesson and never asked again.
Whenever possible, it's important to educate men because I don't think they always understand the effect they're having when they do this. The well-intentioned ones will likely appreciate the feedback and we'll save other women from the same experience.
