If someone asked a bunch of office workers about what they find to be the biggest impediment of productivity, many, if not most, will probably say meetings. Calendars now look like Tetris boards with meetings overlapping one another with no open spaces anywhere to be seen.
In the name of “collaboration,” meetings have proliferated. But somehow the more meetings we have, the harder it seems to get the work done. This is because most of us aren’t always clear on what purpose the meeting serves.
The cost of unproductive meetings
“John,” a former client of mine, was a VP in a global BioPharma organization. As a senior leader in the division, not only did he have meetings within his division, he was also often invited as the point person for the division to meetings in other parts of the organization.
Adding to this complexity was the fact that the company was global. It wasn’t unusual for his day to begin at 6 or 7 a.m. and end at 8 or 9 p.m., much of it filled with back-to-back meetings. He was frustrated and exhausted as he worked late into the night and through the weekend just to try and keep up. As he looked ahead weeks and months, he saw no end to this cycle.
According to a 2023 Microsoft Workplace Trend report, two of the top five obstacles to productivity are too many meetings and inefficient meetings. The impact of these meetings extend beyond the time you’re in the meeting. A 2022 Research paper suggests that the stress and fatigue of preparing for, participating in, and executing on the outcomes of the meeting, extend well beyond the actual time of the meeting itself.
Now, consider that this is compounded by back-to-back meetings with no time to recover and reset. Of course you’ll see impacts on productivity and engagement.
As John explained it, it’s like at the end of the day (or week), you haven’t accomplished anything meaningful. But rather than feeling like that occasionally, you feel like that day after day, week after week.
So how do we make sure that this doesn’t become your normal reality? For John, the turning point was asking himself the following four questions before planning a meeting or asking them of someone else before accepting a meeting invitation. Going through this exercise allowed him to become clearer about where to invest his time and energy. Consequently, his meetings (and, eventually, those he attended) became more productive.
1. What is the purpose of the meeting?
Can you, or the person who is running the meeting, clearly articulate the reason for the meeting? What is the meeting meant to accomplish? If it is solely to share information, it most likely shouldn’t be a meeting. A meeting should be a dialogue that focuses on accomplishing the stated purpose. The answer to this question will lead you to the next question.
2. Who needs to be there and why?
Given the purpose that you have articulated, who needs to be there? For each person you have listed, you should be able to explain why you need them to be present and what you see as their role in the meeting. Now, if their role is to approve or endorse the idea, they don’t need to be there. Only have the people whose input, perspective, and guidance is actually necessary.
3. Are there constraints that can prevent you from achieving your purpose?
Identify what could prevent you from achieving the purpose of the meeting. These may include things like missing key contributors or inadequate preparation time for you or the participants. Once you’ve got your list of constraints, identify solutions to mitigate these obstacles.
Let’s use the two examples above. If the constraint is that your key contributors can’t make it, you might ask them to designate a proxy or divide the discussion into shorter meetings that enable them to participate. If the constraint is that there isn’t enough time to prepare, you might want to consider delaying the meeting or split it into a sequence of meetings dedicated to one specific topic.
4. How will we measure success?
Think of this as the old adage, “that which gets measured gets done.” What would make this meeting a worthwhile investment of time and energy for all involved? This is as simple as finishing the sentence, “At the end of this meeting we will have . . .”
Having a clear purpose for the meeting and how everyone measures success does two things for you. First, they act as a litmus test—do you have the right participants? Is the structure of the meeting designed to meet this outcome?
This will allow you to be better at managing the meeting itself. With these two markers, you can make it easier to keep participants focused on the agenda and avoid tangential conversations. It also sets the stage to close the meeting with clear next steps, assigned responsibilities, and deadlines.
When you commit to asking these four questions, you’ll be able to streamline your meetings. You’ll see improved morale, more efficient workflows, and tangible business growth. You and your meeting attendees will begin to feel less SORE, which stands for stuck, overwhelmed, resigned, and exhausted.
As you become more comfortable running your meetings using this model, you can begin to inspire a culture of productive collaboration and a calendar with a lot less chaos. Who knows, perhaps you’ll motivate others within your organization to adopt this approach as well.