Three critical questions about meetings that leaders (and everyone else) should ask

Let's get right to the point. Too often, there is not enough thought given to the why, when and who of the meetings we schedule. Although this has long been a problem, our evolving era of hybrid work and online meetings has only exacerbated the situation.

Yet, we are not powerless. Before YOU schedule a meeting, the answers to these three questions must be considered:

1. Why this meeting?
2. Why this date?
3. Why these people?

Keep reading to explore why each of these matters for leaders and everyone who regularly sets up meetings with coworkers and partners.

💡1. Why this meeting?

Look, I don’t mind meetings. I have never been an anti-meeting, “everything should just be an email!” zealot. On the other hand, I’ve attended plenty of meetings that really could have been an email. Or a phone call. Or a Teams chat. Or just canceled!

Addressing the abundance of meetings today is important because burnout is high and the ease of scheduling online meetings appears to be a big part of the problem.

Barriers to calling meetings are just lower than ever in our virtual/hybrid world. And that means we're doing a LOT of them. A study published in the Harvard Business Review highlights the situation:

Even as many companies announced return-to-office mandates, the sheer number of virtual meetings didn’t go down appreciably. Employees had an average of 8.3 virtual meetings per week in 2021, rising to 10.3 in 2022, and falling slightly to 10.1 meetings per week in 2023.

I know what you're thinking: "10 meetings - that's a light week!" For some people that's true, but couldn't we all benefit from a meeting diet? The concept of less is more applies here.

If a meeting is the best, most effective way to solve an issue or inform people of something, by all means call one. Yet, quickly go through other options. Would an email or call be just as effective? If so, try those first. You can always schedule a meeting later if people have questions or truly need to talk.

This applies to reoccurring meetings as well. If there isn’t anything valuable on an upcoming agenda, skip that instance of the meeting. Do not meet just to meet.

Back to the HBR study:

... inefficient meetings are the number one barrier to productivity, with 68% of employees saying they don’t have enough uninterrupted focus time during the workday. Further, research shows that up to one-third of meetings are likely unnecessary. This issue negatively impacts productivity and engagement, with a cost estimate in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

With that type of impact, it's clear that knowing when NOT to call a meeting is a crucial capability for today's leaders.

💡2. Why this date?

Does the day you schedule a meeting really matter? You bet.

Case in point: the dreaded Friday meeting. Why is any non-essential meeting scheduled for a Friday? Almost nobody* really wants to attend it. As the person calling the meeting, do YOU even want to be there? Probably not.

A few years ago, I started a new role and inherited all of the previous leader’s 1:1 meetings. Several of them were scheduled on a Friday every week. After a month or two of keeping these standing Friday meetings, I had a crucial conversation with myself: “you don’t like holding these meetings on Fridays and I bet your team doesn’t either. Why are you doing this?” Sure enough, I asked those direct reports about moving them and they were 100% behind the idea.

Following that, I decided to stop calling ALL meetings on Fridays unless there was an absolute emergent need. And that does happen plenty in my line of work. I attend meetings that others call, but I will not schedule Friday meetings unless they are urgent. That has accomplished a few things:

• It’s helped reduce burnout by freeing up time.
• I have more time to work on deep-thinking projects.
• Everyone is just happier!

So, why do many leaders fail to do this? I think it's because, so often, Friday appears to be a clear day where you can schedule things that are tougher to fit in during the week.

Some managers jam a bunch of questionable meetings or 1:1s into Fridays, which makes absolutely nobody* happy. It’s more work and makes Monday and Thursday a bit more packed to not do that, but it also makes you and everyone else happier in the long run.

The same principle can and should apply to other days and times. Few people are really clamoring for (or need) Monday morning meetings at 8 a.m. or end-of-day meetings with questionable value. Choose your day and time with care.

💡3. Why these people?

Here is something that might shock you: not everyone needs to be included in your meeting!

How often have you noticed a meeting invite with way more people than necessary? In my experience, it happens all the time.

One way to avoid this is by using the “required” and “optional” lines in your email meeting invite. That gives people an out and sets the expectation that they don’t have to be there.

If I see my name as optional on an invitation, nine times out of 10 I’m skipping that meeting and doing something else. Anything else.

For years, I’ve told my team to feel free to decline if they are invited to a meeting where they are not on the agenda or nothing on the agenda will impact the work of our team.

It pays to be discerning with your time and it's just respectful to everyone else.

💡Closing thought

Setting expectations for meetings is critical and something all leaders should be mindful of. It's an area where YOU can and should lead by example. As the HBR study authors point out, leaders have the ability and duty to make meetings better:

Running effective meetings is a skill, and like any skill, it can be cultivated and strengthened. Fortunately, to make positive changes you don’t have to boil the ocean. From our analysis, 54% of all meetings are hosted by just 10% of employees. These “power users” have an outsized influence on meeting culture, setting the tone for the majority of meetings within the company. Once you’ve defined best practices and areas for improvement, targeted training for this group can allow benefits to propagate across the board.

✳️ Disclaimer:

*I used the term “nobody” several times during this article. The reality is that you can find 20% of people who like almost anything. For example, 20% of people who fly Southwest Airlines enjoy the non-assigned seating and are disappointed that it's going away. Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof. I’m sure there are 20% of people reading this article who love to attend meetings. Maybe Friday is even their favorite day to meet. Use extreme caution around these people. Like seeing a bear going through your garbage can, it's best to avoid eye contact.