What's good for the goose...

I read an interesting blog post by Bryant University business school professor, Michael Roberto, a few days ago that asked the question, "Should we ban the use of smart phones during meetings?" (see the post, "What's good for our kids is great for us too!").  Roberto referenced a National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) study by David Figlio and Umut Özek ("The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida") that showed that cellphone bans in Florida schools resulted in significant improvements in test scores during the second year of the ban.  In addition, there were significant reductions in unexcused absences.  Both outcomes were more pronounced in middle and high school settings.  

Roberto also referenced an article by Chip Cutter that appeared in the Wall Street Journal last year ("CEOs are furious about employees texting in meetings").  Roberto says, "Many leaders have become incredibly frustrated by the disconnected conversations, lack of collaboration, and poor listening occurring during meetings.  Of course, many of us would say that we turn to our phones because many meetings are long, dull, and boring.  However, we have ask ourselves:  Isn't that what our kids would say about classes in which they would love to use their phone?  Are we just rationalizing our use of phones during meetings in the same way students often do?  How about the "what if there is an emergency?" excuse?  Ask yourself: Just how many true emergencies do we experience in a week?  Moreover, we can easily set our phones such that people won't disturb us unless it is truly an emergency.   Yet, we choose not to do so."

I am just as guilty when it comes to my smartphone.  I've made a conscious effort to avoid checking my phone during meetings, but I have to confess that it's not easy.  But I agree with Professor Roberto, if it's important enough to ban smartphones in schools so that students stay engaged, then it's probably just as important for all of us in organizations to avoid the use of smartphones during meetings.  As leaders, it's critically important that we model the behavior that we expect of others.  Given how hard it is to put them down and ignore them, should we just simply ban smartphones during important meetings?