Endless meetings lead to burnout, which in turn increases turnover. To retain employees, we need to rethink our approach to meetings. Here are five myths about corporate meetings that decrease productivity and job satisfaction. By busting these myths, we can create more effective and engaging cultures and practices that support our employees and our organization.
Meeting Myths
I was recently doing a project with a Big Four accounting firm, and every solution corporate had for their burned-out leaders was more training (in meetings). But 83% of meetings on managers’ calendars are unproductive, surveys say, and meetings are the “number one office productivity killer.” How can we expect to solve the meeting crisis with more meetings?
During a recent project with a Big Four accounting firm, I noticed that their proposed solution to address burned-out leaders was to provide more training in the form of meetings. However, a staggering 83% of meetings on managers' calendars are unproductive, and meetings are often cited as the "number one office productivity killer." It’s counterintuitive to solve the meeting crisis by adding more meetings. Rather, we need to find innovative ways to optimize and streamline meetings to maximize their value and minimize their negative impact.
Here are the 5 most common myths about meetings that organizations must address:
Myth #1: Getting together = Getting things done. Meetings are often the best way to avoid decision-making. When discussions about a decision go on endlessly, it can be difficult to actually reach a conclusive resolution. This doesn’t mean that work can never get done in a meeting, but the assumption that productive work takes place inside the conference room is one of the most caustic lies affecting profitability.
Myth #2: Attendance = Attention. Many leaders assume that people don't read their emails, so they insist on in-person meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page. However, 55% of virtual meeting attendees admit to checking their email during Zoom calls, and the larger the meeting, the more likely people are to tune out. Attention spans in virtual meetings are typically only 4-6 minutes, unless the participants are active speakers.
Myth #3: Information shared = Information remembered. Simply saying something doesn't guarantee that it will be received. People tend to remember what they say, not just what they hear. To ensure that your audience has processed the information, listen to them, engage with them, and don't just share your thoughts. After sharing, ask questions and discuss the topic to gain a better understanding of their perspective. Don't assume that efficiently going down your agenda means you have imparted life-changing wisdom. More often than not, you have just wasted time.
Myth #4: Meeting = Connection. Virtual happy hours don’t make us feel more connected. The only time they possibly did this was during the first two weeks of the pandemic. Meetings are more likely to drain us than connect us — whether they are virtual or in person. No culture will be healthy if we are robbing people’s time of what the job they really want to do (and are paid to do). So, we must learn to have meetings that are effective and that accelerate decision making while protecting people’s time.
Myth #5: In the Room = Influence. This is the most important myth to flip—the belief that being in the meeting room is the best measure of who’s important. When a company is small, effective communication can often be achieved by simply turning around and having a conversation. However, as a company grows, "being invited to the table" becomes competitive and is used to measure and leverage power. Leaders want to be invited to meetings to show that they matter, which turns work into a political, siloed, and conflict-ridden environment that can destroy company culture. People's feelings can be hurt when they are not invited to a meeting, and others may call meetings simply to have an audience for their ego.
Conclusion
The way to demonstrate to workers (and leaders) that they are valued is by enabling them to concentrate on the specific job and skills for which they were hired. This approach communicates the message, "I respect your role too much to waste your time in this meeting." If it is crucial for them to receive information that was discussed, provide it in a different format or summary.
While perfect communication is unrealistic with imperfect people, healthy work cultures must be driven by more than personal convenience. Meetings might be a convenient way for you to communicate, but may not be the best way to transfer information to someone else. Rather than always deferring to meetings, we we should explore various options for conveying information, such as different platforms, timing, and methods. And when meetings are necessary, best practices should be followed to ensure meetings are effective.
Addressing the problem with meetings, and seeking new and diverse communication channels, is an important step to boosting productivity, creativity, and wellbeing.
