How to Reinvent Meeting Culture: From Draining to Energizing

Company meeting culture is not only broken, it’s getting worse. Ineffective meetings are one major factor for why 80% of the global workforce says they are lacking enough time or energy to do their work, according to the latest Microsoft Trends Index.

Scheduled meetings are already depleting, with dense PowerPoints, an overload of information, and minimal discussion.

In addition, this past year, meeting chaos and urgency have increased, with rising ad hoc meetings without calendar invites now making up 57% of meetings. Furthermore, 10% of scheduled meetings are booked last minute. These meetings are more likely to be disorganized and unproductive, without a meeting purpose or agenda.

The Hidden Cost of Today’s Meeting Culture

The disruptiveness of increasing ad hoc meetings and the overall ineffectiveness of meetings make them incredibly draining and depleting. A top hidden drain to a leader’s energy, according to my research, is a loss of control over their day and schedule. With leaders navigating overbooked schedules and back-to-back meetings without transition time, exhaustion can build throughout the day.

Additionally, too many meetings that are inefficient contribute to decreased productivity, according to a previous year’s Microsoft Work Trends Index.

Between ineffective meetings and constant interruptions, it’s no wonder 52% of leaders and almost half of employees say their work feels chaotic and fragmented.

But, leaders don’t have to accept this version of meeting culture.

One overlooked solution is to reinvent meeting culture so that it’s energizing instead of depleting.

An organization’s meeting culture has the potential to be productive, energizing, engaging, and motivating.

When companies create a thriving meeting culture, it sets the tone for better work products, improves team performance, and increases everyone’s energy. Intentional and well-structured meetings can be highly effective.

Four Strategies for Creating a Thriving Meeting Culture

Workers and leaders need the energy to meet the demands of work. As stated, sadly, 80% don’t currently feel like they have it. Instead of meetings adding to the significant energy drains at work, there is an opportunity for meetings to revitalize everyone’s energy.

Through my research, I uncovered that vital leadership is key to creating a thriving workplace. Vital leadership starts with leading yourself first. That means caring for your well-being to build your own vitality. It’s about developing the internal energy resources to show up at your best. There are four kinds of vitality that leaders can care for every day: physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual.

The four kinds of vitality provide a framework for how leaders can develop a thriving meeting culture.

1. Physical Vitality

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.

How to incorporate physical vitality:

• Incorporate movement during the meeting.
• Get creative about the meeting environment: go outside, have standing or walking meetings, put chairs in a circle, or hold meetings in different places.
• Encourage eating and drinking, and provide opportunities for us to refuel our bodies in between meetings.

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Result: These strategies boost our energy throughout the day.

2. Psychological Vitality

To encourage psychological vitality, make sure you are clear on the purpose of the meeting before you schedule it. Having intentionality counteracts the tendency for meetings, especially last-minute ones, to not have a defined goal or purpose. Such meetings are more likely to be ineffective and feel like a waste of time.

How to incorporate psychological vitality:

• Determine and communicate the meeting's purpose and what you hope to accomplish.
• Plan for intellectually stimulating discussion and collaboration.
• Shorten meeting lengths to include 5-15 minute breaks between meetings and non-meeting times.

Result: These strategies increase mental stamina so leaders can think clearly and stay focused throughout the day.

3. Emotional Vitality

Promoting emotional vitality starts with the desire to connect and build relationships. Meetings that involve connecting become more engaging and motivating, as opposed to those that focus on information gathering or solving urgent issues.

How to incorporate emotional vitality:

• Structure meetings to build in time for genuine connection, trust building, and two-way communication.
• Elevate meetings by infusing positivity, such as joy, play, fun, and gratitude.
• Bring in interactive ways to include everyone’s voice and perspective.

Result: These strategies create a gateway toward increased connection and openness during meetings, which is energizing.

4. Spiritual Vitality

Fostering spiritual vitality begins with connecting the meeting to the bigger picture goal or initiative. Meetings can feel pointless if no one understands why it’s important to meet and how it will contribute to the team, department, or organization's goals.

How to incorporate spiritual vitality:

• Share how the meeting contributes to making progress on accomplishing a goal or initiative.
• Communicate how the meeting ties to the company culture.
• Offer opportunities for everyone to be fully present and show up at their best.

Result: These strategies help cultivate a deeper sense of fulfillment in work.

Reflection

Assess your current team and wider-organization meetings: What’s working and what’s not? What one change would help you reinvent meetings so they are energizing?

Urgent, ineffective, depleting meetings don’t have to be the norm. Leaders can instead intentionally focus on how meetings could be energizing. The four factors of vital leadership provide a framework for building a thriving meeting culture. By increasing the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual vitality, leaders can operate at their highest leadership capacity in meetings, where they spend the majority of their time.