The number one obstacle to productivity in the workplace is inefficient meetings. The third productivity disruptor is too many meetings, according to Microsoft’s ‘Work Trend Index’.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Due to the status quo meeting culture, we all regularly experience too many inefficient meetings. However, the solution is not to merely have fewer meetings. Instead, what if executives focus on how to optimize meetings for the best outcomes?

Executives have the opportunity to build a thriving meeting culture by focusing on how meetings could be more productive, energizing, engaging and motivating.

The status quo meeting culture

Consider a status quo meeting. What comes to mind? Status quo meetings typically include a dense PowerPoint with an overload of information. When there is discussion, the same few people respond each time, potentially dominating the conversation. At the end of the meeting, next steps are quickly confirmed. Most participants haven’t spoken throughout the meeting.

One major issue with the status quo meeting culture is leaders are in back-to-back meetings the entire day, shifting gears constantly, without any space for thinking, planning, actually getting work done or being human.

On top of that, the majority of meetings are disorganized and unproductive, lacking a meeting agenda or purpose, without a structure and actionable takeaways.

Why ineffective meetings are problematic:

• Feels like a waste of time, which leads to disengagement, a lack of motivation and frustration.
• Leaves minimal time for focused or strategic work that advances the business.
• Incredibly draining and depleting, contributing to the top leadership drain due to leaders feeling a loss of control over their day and schedule.
• Discourages building an environment where people can operate at peak performance.

The benefits of a thriving meeting culture

When companies create a thriving meeting culture, it sets the tone for better work products, improves team cohesion and increases energy throughout the system. Intentional and well-structured meetings can be highly effective both when entirely virtual and in-person; though a hybrid format is not as effective unless utilizing optimal technology.

Benefits of a thriving meeting culture include:

• Improves productivity and wellbeing, according to Slack’s latest Workforce Index.
• Creates more positive emotions, which increases our ability to connect with each other, take positive action and be more innovative.
• Increases trust and motivation.
• Increases stamina to accomplish focused and strategic work outside of meetings.

Four strategies to create thriving meeting culture

Through my research, I uncovered Vital Leadership is key to creating a thriving workplace. Leading with Vital Leadership creates the highest leadership capacity, improves team performance, and helps organizations thrive.

Vital Leadership places leading yourself first, by cultivating your wellbeing as foundational to maximizing leadership performance. When leaders promote their own wellbeing, it builds their vitality, giving them access to an abundance of energy. There are four components important for how leaders care for their energy every day: physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual.

Applying the four factors of Vital Leadership to meetings provides the framework to foster a thriving meeting culture.

Cultivating physical vitality in meetings begins with recognizing we are human beings with physical bodies, not robots. We are not meant to sit all day without opportunities to move, eat or drink, which is draining. By incorporating movement and opportunities to refuel our bodies during or between meetings, it will boost our energy throughout the day.

Strategies include:

• Get creative about the meeting environment: go outside, hold meetings in different places, have standing or walking meetings, or put chairs in a circle with no table.
• Encourage eating and drinking during meetings.
• Give time for breaks between meetings so everyone can care for their physical bodies.
  

Reflection: What meeting practices might support everyone’s physical wellbeing?

To encourage psychological vitality, provide a clear meeting purpose and agenda, involve attendees in intellectually stimulating discussions, and update meeting practices to include space between meetings and no-meeting times. This results in leaders having increased mental stamina.

Strategies include:

• Determine and communicate the meeting purpose and what you hope to accomplish. Provide a meeting agenda in advance of the meeting.
• Be thoughtful about what would help everyone step into the meeting more effectively. What’s going to help us get the most out of the meeting? How could I prepare everyone?
• Plan for opportunities for discussion and collaboration instead of focusing on read-outs.
• Shorten meeting lengths to include space between meetings. Adopt no-meeting times or days: certain blocks of time where meetings don’t occur so everyone has dedicated time for focused and strategic work.
• Effectively close meetings: know the actions and who is assigned to them. Include due dates and a ‘next steps’ plan.

Reflection: What meeting practices could be intellectually stimulating?

Fostering emotional vitality involves intentionally including opportunities to connect, cultivate positive emotions and build relationships. It creates a wonderful gateway toward increased connection and openness during meetings.

Strategies include:

• Structure meetings to build in time for genuine connection and trust building at the beginning of meetings. It’s an opportunity to bring more clarity on how to best work together, create alignment for the meeting and/or give people the space to share how they are doing.
• Create an environment with increased positivity and two-way communication, including: look for opportunities to learn through play, add elements to stimulate creativity or bring in different tools and interactive ways to include everyone’s perspectives.
• At the end of meetings, include opportunities to encourage gratitude and celebrate progress, wins and accomplishments.

Reflection: How could everyone connect to each other and cultivate positivity throughout the meeting?

To promote spiritual vitality means connecting the meeting to the bigger picture and creating an environment where everyone has the opportunity to show up at their best. It is essential to cultivating a deeper sense of fulfillment in work, of which meetings are a core aspect.

Strategies include:

• Share how the meeting contributes to making progress on the bigger picture goal or initiative. Include the positive impact it will have on the organization.
• Communicate how the meeting ties to the following aspects of the company culture: the mission, vision, purpose and core values. Intentionally demonstrate company values during meetings.
• Promote opportunities for everyone to be fully present and show up as their best selves during the meeting.

Reflection: How could everyone connect to their best selves and/or something greater than themselves during the meeting?

Executives can overcome the depleting nature of the status-quo meeting culture by creating a thriving meeting culture. The Four Factors of Vital Leadership provide leaders a framework to operate at their highest leadership capacity where they spend the majority of their time – in meetings. It builds an environment where everyone is consistently energized, engaged and motivated while tackling problems and business challenges.

By creating conditions for human thriving during meetings, leaders have the opportunity to maximize leader, team and organization performance and productivity.