Ever find yourself scheduling another meeting to “improve communication” only to watch your team’s eyes glaze over? You’re not alone.
MYTH BUSTED: Most meetings are actually a waste of time, and your team knows it.
While face-to-face interaction has value, the idea that scheduling more meetings automatically improves communication is fundamentally flawed. Here’s why:
The Real Problems
Information Overload – Too many meetings flood employees with details they can’t retain. People start viewing meetings as mere updates rather than collaborative problem-solving sessions.
Meeting Fatigue – Your team has actual work to do. They’re sitting there thinking, “This could have been an email.” And they’re usually right.
Lack of Clear Actions – Most meetings end without defined next steps, follow-up plans, or accountability measures. People leave wondering what actually got accomplished.
Update Trap – If you’re just sharing information that could be communicated via email or shared documents, you’re wasting everyone’s time.
The Better Approach
Meetings should leverage the collective brainpower in the room to move things forward, not just disseminate information. Use shared documentation, internal communication tools like Slack or Discord, and project management platforms for updates and routine information sharing.
Reserve meetings for when you genuinely need collaborative thinking, decision-making, or complex problem-solving that benefits from real-time discussion.
The Bottom Line
Quality trumps quantity. One well-structured, action-oriented meeting with clear outcomes beats five rambling update sessions. Your team’s time is valuable—treat it that way.
Before scheduling your next meeting, ask yourself: “Could this be handled more efficiently through another communication method?” Your team will thank you for it.
About Monday Myth Check
Monday Myth Check is a weekly dose of reality where Jono Brake holds up commonly held leadership beliefs and asks the question “What if this was not true”. You can find the weekly videos and other posts by following Jono Brake on LinkedIn or following The Forged Leader, as well as on Youtube @jonobrake.
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