3. Preparation

Those towards the systematic end of the organisation dimension - Germans, Dutch, Danes - will be well prepared. They will expect briefing papers which they will study and amend and the implications of which they will have meticulously researched. Those towards the organic end - British, Italians, Spanish, Irish, Greek - will have skimmed through the papers on the plane, and some may still be leafing through them at the meeting. They expect that what is actually said at the meeting has more importance than what is written in the briefing.

The chair should ensure that working papers are distributed well in advance with a request for comments on them before the meeting, to check that each participant has received them and, preferably, read them.

4. Attendance

The further towards the organic cud of the organisation dimension - Italians, Greeks - the more unpredictable it is who and how many will turn up. regardless of who has been designated.

If the designated participant cannot attend, those towards the group end of the leadership dimension – British, Dutch, Danes – will send a subordinate who may be much more junior. Higher up the dimension they will either send an immediate and trusted deputy or no one at all. Unaccustomed to meetings between people of different status, they will ignore the deputies of others.

5. Punctuality

Everyone will try to be there on time, but only those at the systematic end of the organisation dimension can be relied on to succeed. They will expect the meeting to start and end on time even if the aims of the meeting have not been fully achieved. If the meeting is called half an hour before the formal proceedings start it gives time for the unpunctual to arrive and for the others to socialise over tea and coffee.

Some participants, probably French or Italian, may feel less bound by the discipline of a meeting than others. They may leave in make phone calls or attend to paperwork if the discussion is not immediately relevant to them. One solution is not to serve refreshments during the meeting and to schedule interruption by breaking every hour for refreshment, small talk, telephone calls and other personal business.

Be overgenerous with time. Add at least half an hour on to the end of the projected schedule for slippage. Punctual people do not mind leaving early.

6. Agenda

Everyone will expect a prepared agenda, but only towards the systematic end will they expect to keep to it. The moderately organic, like the British, will expert to discuss and amend the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, while the more organic will feel free to introduce unscheduled topics at any time.

If possible, agree the agenda with each participant before the meeting and again at the start. Make the individual items as specific as possible, including the desired outcome of the discussion and the time allocated for it.

7. Chair

Those at the individual end of the leadership spectrum -French, Belgians, Spanish - will expect strong control from the chair over the agenda and the discussion. They will also find it natural to contradict and challenge the chair and vie for the real authority, as distinct from the formal, over the proceedings. Others will expect the chair to be more unobtrusive but his or her position to be more respected.

At the systematic end participants will expect contributions to be made through the chair when invited. At the organic end they will expect more of a free-for-all and feel less constrained by formalities of debate.

If possible it should be agreed before the meeting. who will chair it, whether the chair changes according to the topic, and so on. The chair should make clear whether discussion will always be through the chair or not. At first it is as well to make participation as formal as is necessary to ensure both orderly progression through the agenda and the contribution of every participant.