The Simple Fix That Ended This Team’s Meeting Overload in Just 2 Weeks
However, many teams struggle with meeting overload, and it’s not just because they’re too detailed or cautious. Meanwhile, leaders often think that adding more meetings will solve the problem, but it actually does the opposite.
Meetings Expand When Ownership Fades
In reality, the real problem is the total loss of ownership inside the meetings. Consequently, when the team doesn’t know who owns the last set of decisions, they start to repeat the same debates across multiple calls, trying to clarify who decided what. This creates a vicious cycle of confusion and inefficiency.
The Result: Meetings Grow Because Decisions Don’t Stick
In the global team I worked with, this showed up in small moments. For instance, someone said they would “take a look at a plan,” but no one knew what that meant specifically. Therefore, the team would revisit topics they covered last week because no one was sure who decided what. This lack of clarity led to repeated debates and a significant slowdown in progress.
You Can’t Fix Meeting Overload with More Meetings
Unfortunately, many leaders fall into this trap. When the team slows down, they add more meetings, hoping that more time together will fix the confusion. However, this approach actually exacerbates the problem. In addition, it creates a culture of dependency, where team members rely on leaders to make decisions rather than taking ownership themselves.
The Simple Fix: Clear Ownership and Decision-Making
To create meetings that move work forward, start with a clear owner for every decision. Meanwhile, name the next step in simple language and close each meeting with a shared record of decisions. This ensures that everyone knows who is responsible for what and what needs to be done next. In addition, it helps to prevent repetition and confusion, allowing the team to make progress without getting bogged down in unnecessary debates.
Key Takeaways
* If your meetings keep getting longer and your progress keeps getting slower, stop looking at the calendar and instead, take a look at your ownership.
* The moment you make it clear who owns a decision and who owns the next step, your meetings shrink, and your team speeds up.
* To create meetings that move work forward, start with a clear owner for every decision, name the next step in simple language, and close each meeting with a shared record.
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