We’ve all been there. Meetings about meetings. Updates with no real updates. Conversations that circle endlessly but produce nothing of consequence. It’s no wonder “another meeting” has become the collective sigh of the modern workplace.
The issue is not that we meet.
The issue is that we meet without purpose, without clarity, and without accountability.
The Cost of Meeting Without Value
Every minute spent in a low-value meeting is time stolen from deep work, strategic thinking, and actual execution. Multiply that across teams, departments, and months, and the result is staggering:
Productivity slows. Morale dips. Decisions stall. Momentum dies.
And yet, many organizations operate as if simply gathering people in a virtual room is a productive act in itself.
It is not.
Meetings Must Earn Their Place
The best companies today are setting a new standard. Meetings must now justify their existence. They must be tightly aligned with outcomes, documented for clarity, and result in real action.
Here is what that looks like:
- Every meeting has a clear agenda. If it does not, it does not happen.
- Every meeting is recorded and summarized. Not just for those who missed it, but to capture what was decided and who owns what.
- Every meeting results in action items. If there is no follow-up, there was no value.
- Every meeting is reviewed. Was it necessary? Could it have been a shared document, a voice note, or an async update?
The New Culture of Accountability
Modern teams are shifting from “attendance equals contribution” to “outcomes define impact.” That shift begins with meetings. When meetings become tools for action rather than containers for talk, the entire organization starts to move differently.
Meetings should not be the work.
Meetings should move the work forward.
If they are not doing that, it is time to ask the hard question:
Why are we meeting at all?
Let’s keep the conversation going. How does your team ensure meetings are meaningful? Share your thoughts or connect with us on LinkedIn!
