How to Run Meetings People Do Not Dread
Microsoft found employees are interrupted every two minutes during core work hours. Fewer, better meetings are one of the fastest ways a leader can give a team its time back.
Run better meetings by holding fewer of them, giving every meeting a clear purpose and owner, inviting only the people who need to be there, starting and ending on time, ending with decisions and named owners, and replacing status updates with a shared written list. Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index found employees are interrupted every two minutes during core hours, and 80% say they lack the time or energy to do their work.
Ask almost anyone what wastes their time at work and meetings will be near the top of the list. The research backs them up. Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index found employees are interrupted every two minutes during core work hours by meetings, emails or chats, and 80% of workers say they lack enough time or energy to do their work. People are not just busy. They are working in pieces.
Meetings are not the enemy. Good meetings make decisions, solve problems and build teams. The problem is that most organizations have too many meetings that do none of those things. Fixing that is one of the most practical gifts a leader can give a team.
Ask whether the meeting needs to happen
Before scheduling a meeting, ask one question: what decision or outcome will this meeting produce that could not happen another way? If the answer is sharing information, it can usually be a short written update. If it is making a decision, solving a problem or building a relationship, a meeting may be exactly right.
Seven rules for better meetings
- Every meeting has a purpose. State the decision or outcome in the invitation.
- Every meeting has an owner. One person is responsible for running it and following up.
- Invite only who is needed. Share notes with everyone else.
- Start and end on time. Respecting time is respecting people.
- Replace status updates with a shared list. Use meeting time for discussion, not reading aloud.
- End with owners and dates. Each action leaves with one name and a deadline.
- Review your recurring meetings quarterly. Cancel the ones that no longer earn their place.
Make the first few minutes human
Efficiency is not the only goal. A few minutes at the start of a team meeting for people to catch up, or to recognize someone’s work, builds the relationships that make the rest of the work easier. I like opening team meetings by asking someone to recognize a colleague for something specific. It takes two minutes and changes the tone of the whole hour. For more ideas, see Icebreakers for Meetings.
End every meeting with clear commitments
The most common reason meetings feel pointless is that nothing happens afterward. Before anyone leaves, go around and have each person say what they are taking on and by when. Write it down where everyone can see it. Next meeting, start by reviewing it. That simple habit turns meetings into progress and builds accountability without anyone having to chase. See How to Build Accountability on a Team.
Protect focus time
Fewer meetings only help if the time they free up is protected. Many teams set meeting-free blocks, such as mornings or one full afternoon a week, when nobody schedules anything. Leaders can also stop expecting instant replies to every message. The result is more time for the deep work that actually moves things forward, and less of the constant switching that wears people out. See How to Reduce Burnout on Your Team.
Running a team that respects people’s time is part of what I teach in my team keynote, Your Team Is Capable of More. And for using AI to cut the follow-up work after meetings, see Take Back Your Time with AI.
Most teams have too many meetings that decide nothing. Hold fewer, give each a purpose and owner, invite only who is needed, start and end on time, end with named owners and dates, and protect the focus time you free up.
Frequently asked questions
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You Are Capable of More
A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. The bestselling book behind Chris’s keynotes and the 2026 Paris Book Festival winner in the How-To category. Many teams hand a copy to every seller at their kickoff.
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