EP. 143: The Meeting Hijacker: How Leaders Can Take Back Control

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Coffee Break: Breaking the Cycle of Bullying in Healthcare, One Cup at a Time 23 min 1 speaker 7 chapters transcribed 1 month ago

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What is meeting hijacking and why does it happen in healthcare teams?

Dr. Renée Thompson 0:02

Plants thrive and grow in a peaceful, nourished environment, right? Well, it's the same with human beings. But what if that environment is not so peaceful? What if it's toxic? Welcome to Coffee Break, breaking the cycle of bullying in healthcare one cup at a time. In this podcast, you'll get practical, evidence-based strategies to help you. Cultivate and sustain a healthy and respectful work culture by tackling an age-old problem in healthcare, bullying and incivility. I am your host, Dr. Renee Thompson.

Dr. Renée Thompson 0:46

Hi everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Coffee Break Podcast. I am Dr. Renee Thompson. I am your host. Okay. If this is your first time here, I wanna say, where have you been? But no, seriously, if this is your first time here. Thank you. Welcome. You are in a safe, good space. If you tune in weekly, well, I am just beyond super grateful that you give me some of your time because I know we're all pretty busy right now. So whether you're brand new or you're a repeat listener, thank you. I really appreciate that you're here. Today, we're going to talk about a common situation that I hear from a lot of the leaders that I coach. Let's say you've noticed a lot of tension, okay, a lot of complaining and conflict in your department, especially towards management.

Dr. Renée Thompson 1:46

Okay, I cannot stand that word, management. Or maybe you're implementing a new process. Maybe it's something related to AI, which I know right now is sort of a hot sensitive topic, and there's mutiny among your staff. Things are getting kind of out of hand. So to help, you decide you're gonna schedule a meeting. You want everybody to come in and you want to kind of hash it out, but you really want to go in with that intent that you want to listen to what their concerns are. Okay. You want to clear up. any misunderstandings because you know this happens. People hear one thing and then, you know, humans crave drama. Even if it's something simple, it will turn into something complicated. Okay. Full-on drama by the time it gets around your department.

Dr. Renée Thompson 2:39

So you want to clear up any misunderstandings, set the record straight, sort of, and you want to reassure your team that you know what? I am here for you. Let's talk about this like adult professionals. So that's your intent. You gather everyone together, you start the meeting, and two minutes in, your primary resistor, who probably got to the meeting first. Interrupts. Takes over, and before you know it, you've gone past the time that you had scheduled for this meeting. And guess what? You never really discussed What you wanted to discuss? It was an epic failure. Does that sound familiar? It's surprising to me, well, maybe not surprising, how often this happens where you have a meeting and someone hijacks your meeting.

Dr. Renée Thompson 3:41

Now, hijacking your meeting. It conveys something negative and it truly is where somebody for their own self-interest or something that they're angry about, they just bulldoze through the meeting and they take ownership of it. So we're gonna talk about this today and I'm gonna teach you what you can do. Let's first talk about the common ways hijackers hijack. Okay. They may start bringing up issues from the past. I mean they will do that two years ago. We were in the same situation or three years ago, and they just won't let it go. And they keep talking about past issues. Okay. And a lot of those issues, half the people in the room probably weren't even there when it happened. So they bring up Issues from the past as a way to keep the conversation open and raw.

Dr. Renée Thompson 4:42

They may keep circling back to the same complaint. We don't want AI here, or this process isn't working anymore, or we don't like the new process for how we're taking admissions from the emergency department. And they just keep going back to that, complaining over and over and over again. Sometimes hijackers blame you. For everything said.

How do common disruptive behaviors (past grievances, blaming, “we” language) show up in meetings?

Dr. Renée Thompson 5:08

And I've seen this show up where they attack the leadership team. And if you're the only leader in the room, that means you are the target of their attack. And they may blame you for everything, even though okay, how you're using AI may not be in your control.

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Chapters

7 chapters

1 What is meeting hijacking and why does it happen in healthcare teams? 0:02–5:08 2 How do common disruptive behaviors (past grievances, blaming, “we” language) show up in meetings? 5:08–10:08 3 Why do leaders often make the hijacking situation worse by over‑explaining or defending? 10:08–14:13 4 What respectful but direct interruption technique can stop a hijacker in the moment? 14:13–19:13 5 How can a binary (yes/no) question shift a resistor from complaint to accountability? 19:13–21:00 6 When should you ask a disruptive participant to leave the meeting? 21:00–22:09 7 How do clear agendas, time boundaries, and follow‑up meetings prevent hijacking? 22:09–23:27

Speakers

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Dr. Renée Thompson 20 min

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Topics in this episode

AI 4 Harvard Business Review 1 Dina 2 Renee Thompson 2 Healthy Workforce Institute 1 emergency department 3 management 2

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Recorded24 Jun 2026

Publisherfeeds.megaphone.fm

Transcriptspeaker-named · 100+ languages

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Show notes

One disruptive voice can derail an entire conversation, but only if you let it. In this episode, Dr. Renee Thompson addresses a challenge many healthcare leaders face: staff members who hijack meetings and derail important conversations before they can truly begin. She explores the common behaviors that disrupt productive dialogue, including revisiting old grievances, blaming leadership, interrupting others, and speaking as though they represent the entire team, while also highlighting leadership responses that often make the situation worse. Renee explains why meeting hijacking is often a power move and emphasizes the importance of agendas, clear boundaries, and ground rules to maintain respectful, productive discussions. She also offers practical, in-the-moment strategies leaders can use to regain control, such as interrupting the interrupter, asking binary questions, and protecting the meeting's purpose without losing credibility. Tune in to learn how to respond with clarity, confidence, and authority when someone tries to take control of the room. About Dr. Renee Thompson: Dr. Renee Thompson is a leading authority on creating healthy work cultures by eliminating bullying and incivility in healthcare. With more than 31 years of experience as a clinical nurse, educator, quality manager, and executive leader, she has become one of the most sought-after experts on workplace culture. As CEO and Founder of the Healthy Workforce Institute, Renee works with healthcare organizations worldwide to equip leaders with the tools they need to cultivate professional, respectful, and supportive teams. Renee is a published author, award-winning speaker, and one of only 30 nurses worldwide to earn the Certified Speaking Professional designation. She also serves on The Joint Commission’s Workplace Violence Technical Advisory Panel and has been recognized globally for her thought leadership and advocacy. What You’ll Learn In This Episode: Meeting hijackers often derail conversations by bringing up past issues, repeating complaints, blaming leadership, and interrupting repeatedly. Leaders can make the situation worse by overexplaining, defending themselves, fawning, making empty promises, or doing nothing. A respectful but direct interruption can stop disruptive behavior before it takes over the meeting. Asking whether someone is willing to be part of the solution helps shift the conversation from complaint to accountability. Meeting hijacking is a power move, and leaders must respond in a way that protects their credibility and the discussion's purpose. Clear agendas, time boundaries, and follow-up meetings help keep conversations focused and productive. Links & Resources: Connect with and follow Dr. Renee Thompson on LinkedIn. Learn more about the Healthy Workforce Institute on their LinkedIn and website. Learn more about the Framework here! Learn the 33 Scripts to Address Disruptive Behavior here! Buy Renee Thompson’s book Enough! Eradicating Bullying & Incivility here! Grab a copy of Renee Thompson’s book Do No Harm Applies to Nurses Too! here. Learn more about the Eradicating Bullying & Incivility eLearning Program here! Have a question for Renee? Email us at [email protected] to have your leadership question featured in an upcoming Q&A episode! Disclosure: The host may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products we link to. As an Amazon Associate, Coffee Break earns from qualifying purchases. Liked this episode? Rate, review, and share with your colleagues. Your support helps us reach more healthcare leaders working to create better work environments.

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