Have you ever been part of a professional "meeting culture," sometimes described as an "overly 'meeting-centric' culture"? You know, where decreased productivity, inefficiency, and low morale reign supreme. Everyone experiences 'meeting fatigue' and complains about going to too many meetings. Still, holding and managing effective meetings is a significant responsibility and a large part of every leader's job. In his 2004 book, "Death by Meeting," Patrick Lencioni emphasizes the importance of structuring and conducting meetings "to align with the organization's goals, encouraging productive communication and decision-making, rather than letting meetings become time-wasting ordeals." His approach emphasizes the importance of structure, purpose, and team dynamics in making meetings more effective. By implementing these principles, leaders can transform meetings from time-wasting events into valuable tools for communication, decision-making, and problem-solving within their organizations. Here's how you can hold better meetings as a leader: 1) Always Define the Purpose. By clearly articulating the purpose of each meeting, you ensure that everyone understands why the meeting is necessary and what its expected outcomes are. 2) Create a Compelling Agenda. Having a well-structured agenda that outlines the topics to discuss and the time allocated to each, focuses us on critical issues and avoids unnecessary one-off conversations that can distract us from what we need to do. 3) Utilize Different Meeting Types. Choose among daily check-ins, to weekly team meetings, monthly individual progress meetings, and quarterly off-sites. Varying your meeting types lets people know it's OK to meet differently and still be able to accomplish work objectives. 4) Be Ruthless in Your Management of Time. Priorities get accomplished when sticking to a scheduled agenda, starting and ending on time, and allocating the most time to the most critical issues. 5) Encourage Healthy Conflict. When we create an environment where open debate and creative friction occur more frequently, we help team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions and engaging in challenging conversations. 6) Focus on Results. Every discussion, decision, and action becomes vital when they're outcome-driven. We accomplish this by clarifying and documenting agreed-upon actions at the close of each meeting. And the best meeting recommendation of all? Lead by example. As a leader, set the tone for all meetings by being punctual, engaged, and committed to the meeting process, reinforcing their purpose and importance in executing organizational priorities. Meetings are necessary for our business success and should be considered a helpful tool and resource for leaders to lead their people with; they don't have to suck. As a leader, you must take ownership of everything that happens in your meetings. Why not start today?