There is nothing more disappointing and frustrating than a meeting that goes awry, but Rick Maurer, author of Why Don't You Want What I Want? (Bard Press), shows how leaders mess up meetings by failure to notice the Gorilla in the room.

The fact is leaders feel they accomplished something if they are able to tick off everything on the agenda.  And while this is important, several psychological studies reveal that people often miss details when they are concentrating on something else.  One study dubbed the 'Gorilla in Our Midst' asked groups to count how often a team passed the ball to other members of their own basketball team. The groups did quite well in counting the number of passes but missed seeing a Gorilla walk on and off the court. The researchers classified this as selective looking.

Nevertheless, leaders who desire a positive outcome for their meetings cannot afford to be selective in their approach. Gorillas are huge and hard to ignore, but if one is totally focused on their own objectives it is quite easy not to notice even the biggest of cues.

Rick said: "That gorilla study got my attention. It highlighted how often we think we are seeing the whole picture, when, in fact, we are only seeing what we are looking for. The people who run planning meetings can get so wrapped up in taking care of logistics and making sure they get through all their slides, that they miss the most important thing – how is the audience reacting to what's going on? If you can't answer that question, you might as well not hold these meetings."

Rick has developed a free and simple tool called the Energy Bar which can help leaders notice the gorilla in the room before the meeting goes 'downhill'. The Energy Bar  is designed for leaders who want to harness support for their ideas and features six different points of energy- (ranging from a point of resistance to a point of acceptance)- effective in helping users to easily identify where their team or stakeholders are on the bar.

While many leaders feel compelled to talk more and 'dig their heels in' when a meeting doesn't seem to be going their way, the Energy Bar encourages them to take a different approach by demonstrating interest in their audience. Leaders can discern if there is a Gorilla in the room by determining where the audience's energy is on the Energy Bar and how they might help shift the energy to something that might support their idea.