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I am on a three person team. The other two team members are considered senior, I think of myself as an intermediate. I have been at the firm for two years and joined as a junior.

Our company is small and very 'flat' and casual. I think I have good relationships with my coworkers and boss, and am in good standing.

My boss has recently been having a series of meetings that I believe are related to strategic planning of the company. These meetings consistently involved both my coworkers, plus the team leader of another team.

Is it worth talking with my boss about this? I think it's a bit crap to consistently be excluding one person from a team of three from a series of meetings.

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  • 3
    You could simply ask.
    – Jane S
    May 28, 2015 at 3:11
  • 4
    No meetings sounds like bliss to some.
    – dwjohnston
    May 28, 2015 at 3:35
  • 1
    @dwjohnston is right. Business secret: Work is accomplished by those who get things done while others are in meetings.
    – Wesley Long
    May 28, 2015 at 4:50
  • 2
    @WesleyLong unfortunately those who spend all their time having meetings get paid the most :-(
    – gbjbaanb
    May 28, 2015 at 12:36
  • 1
    @WesleyLong While those in the meetings get paid more.
    – James
    May 28, 2015 at 13:05

3 Answers 3

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I would be a little worried about this, but not from the perspective that being excluded means they think less of you. They may simply believe that you don't have the expertise required to really contribute to these meetings, and that it would be a better use of your time for you to stay at the office and work. This isn't a negative judgement; it's a reality of business.

Instead what you should worry about and focus on is the learning opportunity you're missing in these meetings. Sitting in on discussions with your peers and seniors is a great way to learn more about your work. High-level strategy meetings like you described can give you a broader perspective on the company as a whole, and help you identify opportunities for you to step up and contribute on a larger scale.

I'd say you should bring this up with your boss, but not from the perspective of being left out. Just state that you believe you could learn a great deal from these meetings and you'd like to sit in on them. If you have a good relationship as you say, then the worst that will happen is you'll learn why you haven't been invited so far. The best case scenario, of course, is that you get to be included in the future.

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Is it worth talking with my boss about this? I think it's a bit crap to consistently be excluding one person from a team of three from a series of meetings.

You could always casually ask your boss about the meetings, and ask if you could be of some help.

But remember that meetings aren't about making everyone feel equal. Meetings are (or should be) about getting things done.

Only people who are necessary should be included in meetings. If this is a strategy meeting, then your boss, two senior individuals and a team lead may be just the right people for this particular meeting.

Even if this is a small, flat company, you can't expect to attend every meeting.

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Personally i would be worried...worried a lot.
As you say, the team is small...and leaving out ...i just don't like the percentages...33%...if it was 5% it would be ok but 33%....oops...
To me it sounds fishy...at first they don't count on you as part of the team..probably they consider you the "boy"...second if they had some kind of appreciation for you you would be from day one in these meetings...
I don't want to scare but be prepared for the worst case scenario.....it s crystal clear that they don't count you in the team so you should act accordingly....i think its time to have a look around....

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    This sounds... extreme. A more likely scenario is that they feel the work the OP is doing is keeping them happy, and may not have even considered that they would like to join in. Simply say you would like to be involved in more strategic planning as it would be a great learning opportunity and you may also be able to contribute. Don't immediately draw a malicious conclusion when a thoughtless one will do :)
    – Jane S
    May 28, 2015 at 9:36
  • @JaneS would you take a bet on this....if my assumptions are right(I really hope not) at the end of the summer there would be a job ad...take note that there are a 3 people team
    – someone
    May 28, 2015 at 12:36
  • I think jumping to an accusatory conclusion will not help you. Best to handle things like this by aking to be included. If the answer is no with no valid reason, then you start looking for another job. But I still don't think that's the common scenario.
    – Jane S
    May 28, 2015 at 20:52
  • I would tend to agree with Jane S, my sense is that the company is growing, we are in a hard to hire for sector, I have a fair amount of expertise in several of the company's systems (which I have either maintained or built), etc.
    – bossSleepy
    May 29, 2015 at 4:05
  • @bossSleepy the scenarios in life are either good or bad they can't be both...when everyone presented with a "good" scenario i gave you a "bad" scenario...i have personal experience with "bad" scenarios in my workplace...and this not just me,i am talking from the lowest το the very highest...story : believe it or not...once upon a time was an executive in the highest of ranks....he was great in everything except the fact that he had a rather different philosophy from the boss...guess what .the boss started to have meetings with lower executives...and you can guess the outcome
    – someone
    May 29, 2015 at 6:08

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