Are You Drowning in "Meeting Culture"?
Ever wondered why real decisions happen in the corridor after the meeting?
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Your meeting culture isn’t about collaboration. It’s about fear.
Look at your schedule right now. Count the meetings.
Each one represents a moment where someone – maybe you – was afraid to make a decision-making choice they were actually empowered to make.
Each hour blocked is strategic thinking time lost.
Meetings have become our workplace culture security blanket to mask our fears:
- Too scared to decide? Schedule a meeting.
- Worried about being wrong? Get group input.
- Want to avoid responsibility? Create a committee.
But your meeting overload isn’t just about wasted time. It’s eroding your productivity and meeting efficiency:
Your team learns to wait for group approval in a meeting.
Your high performance teams get frustrated by the lack of progress because “we need to wait for a meeting about that”.
Your organization moves at the speed of your calendar because you have so many meetings there isn’t time for another meeting.
Let that sit uncomfortably for a moment.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t about going rogue or making decisions in a vacuum. It’s about getting really clear and defining responsibilities and accountabilities for decisions. We use the ROLES framework to ensure everyone knows who can decide what, and how those decisions should be communicated. When decision rights are clear, meetings become choices, not crutches. This improves meeting etiquette and overall meeting norms.
Feeling exposed? Good. That’s where transformation begins.
Of course you might be thinking:
“If I am not in that meeting I will probably need more meetings to resolve things down the track”OR
“I need that meeting so I can stay across progress”
OR
“Some of the meetings are not my meetings so I have to attend”
And I agree- these are all the excuses we use to continue the illusion of busyness, contributing to severe meeting fatigue.
So let’s shift it.
Your Amplify Challenge
To create effective meetings and improve time management, try these steps:
- Delete every recurring meeting.
- Make every decision that’s yours to make and communicate it.
- Implement meeting-free days in your team to combat meeting fatigue.
- Decline meetings where there is not a clear agenda or decision outcome shared ahead – (we use the 8N framework to decline meetings).
- Demand communication of decisions, not discussions about them. Focus on action items rather than endless debates.
Your leadership impact isn’t measured in meetings attended.
It’s measured in decisions made.
Actions taken.
Results achieved.
Every hour in a meeting is an hour your competitors might be spending on execution.
What decision are you avoiding with your next meeting?
#ExecutiveLeadership #StrategicDecisions #SeniorLeadership #HighPerformanceLeadership #ROLESframework
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To further improve your organisational culture, consider utilizing asynchronous communication tools, ensuring clear meeting minutes are distributed, and utilizing video conferencing effectively for hybrid work environments. For quick updates, consider stand-up meetings or remote meetings that respect everyone's time. If a meeting is necessary, strong facilitation is key to ensuring decision-making happens efficiently.
Questions managers ask about this
How can too many meetings slow down decision making?
Excessive meetings often indicate fear of making decisions individually. This habit causes delays as team members wait for group approval instead of deciding promptly. It wastes strategic thinking time and reduces execution speed, as the organisation moves at the pace of its calendar rather than progress.
What is a practical way to reduce unnecessary meetings?
Start by deleting all recurring meetings that lack clear purpose. Only hold meetings with a defined decision outcome shared in advance. Implement meeting-free days to allow uninterrupted work. Decline meetings that do not have a clear agenda focused on decisions rather than discussions.
How do clear decision rights improve meeting effectiveness?
When everyone knows who owns which decisions and how to communicate them, meetings become optional tools rather than essential crutches. Clear accountability prevents teams from relying on meetings to avoid responsibility and speeds up execution by enabling faster decision making outside of meetings.
Why do teams wait for meetings to make progress?
Teams often wait for meetings because decision rights are unclear and individuals fear making choices alone. This creates a culture where meetings are used to mask uncertainty or avoid responsibility. Clarifying who can decide what reduces this dependency and encourages quicker action without waiting for group input.
Hear this discussed on the podcast
Episodes of The High Performance Leader that cover the same ground.
Jimmy Burroughes
FounderFormer British Army officer and corporate GM who has transformed 3,000+ managers into leaders across 30+ organisations. Creator of the Simplify to Amplify methodology, author of Beat Burnout, Ignite Performance, and two-time Global Recognition Award winner.
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