Module 13 · Leadership & people management · Lesson 9 of 12

Running meetings people value

A purpose, the right people, a decision, and a written next step.

6 min read · Level: Beginner · Free — no account needed to read

The idea

Meetings people value have a clear purpose, the right people, an agenda shared in advance, a decision or outcome, and a written next step with an owner. Many meetings could be an email; some emails should be a meeting.

Running a meeting well includes making space for quieter voices, keeping to time, and ending with “who does what by when”.

Why it matters

Meetings take up huge amounts of people’s time. Running them well is one of the most visible forms of respect a leader shows.

See it happen

Sohel’s weekly team meeting runs long with no clear outcomes.

The first reaction

He keeps it because the team has always met on Mondays.

With the idea

He shares an agenda the day before, keeps it to thirty minutes, and ends by writing who does what. People start arriving prepared.

What changed

Purpose and a clear ending made the meeting worth attending.

Easy to get wrong

• Meeting without a purpose or agenda.
• Ending without clear next steps and owners.

Different perspectives

Reasonable people disagree here. None of these is presented as the answer.

Meetings are a leader’s tool

Grove treated meetings and one-to-ones as some of a manager’s highest-leverage work when they are run with purpose.

Too many meetings harm work

Others argue many meetings fragment people’s time; writing things down and fewer, shorter meetings suit some teams better.

Where this comes from: Andrew Grove — High Output Management (1983).

Try it now: Fix one meeting

1. Pick a recurring meeting you attend or run.
2. Write its purpose in one sentence.
3. Write one change that would make it more useful.

Questions to think about

• Which meeting do you attend that could be an email?
• What makes a meeting feel worth your time?

Your challenge this week

End your next meeting with “who does what by when”.