Meetings as Culture, Part 2:

Picture this: one meeting buzzes with energy, ideas flowing freely as the team reaches new heights of innovation and alignment because everyone is clear on their goals and roles. Another meeting with the same people, however, feels like a slow trudge through mud—disjointed, aimless, and draining.. These starkly different experiences are not just isolated incidents; they are windows into the soul of your organization’s culture.

In the first post of this series, we explored the challenges of unproductive meetings and how they mirror deeper organizational culture. Leaders set the tone for meetings and are accountable for their quality. Today, we’ll delve into the five most common meeting pitfalls and share actionable insights from our BTS client experiences to help you overcome these challenges. By addressing these issues head-on, you can lead meetings that both enhance your company’s culture and accelerate business results.

Here’s how you can start turning the tide on ineffective meetings and use them as a catalyst for positive change:

1. The pitfall: Meetings that have no clear purpose or plan.

The conversation meanders as employees watch the minutes tick by and wonder, “Why am I here?”

The solution: State the purpose before the meeting starts. Keep it short and make sure it is clear. A good meeting has a single, clearly defined purpose. Are we meeting to share information? To solve a problem? To generate ideas? The meeting may involve different types of discussions, but ultimately those discussions should align with the purpose. If people are clear on the purpose before they join, they will come better prepared and be more engaged. They will know what meetings they need to be there for, and when to politely say “no” or have a colleague represent them. And you as the leader will guide the conversation more effectively because everyone has prepared for the same purpose.

2. The pitfall: At the end of a meeting, nothing seems different, new or clear.

When participants leave with no new actionable information or insights, no decision to guide them, or no input to weigh for a future decision, it can lead to overwhelm and in the end – frustration as nothing new happens as an outcome of the meeting.

The solution: Set and share a meeting target at the beginning. Think of the target as the meeting’s conversational destination that everyone is driving toward together, which adds specificity to the meeting’s purpose. Aligning expectations on a target focuses the conversation. It gives you the opportunity to uncover other agendas that might be lurking ready to derail the progress. Finally, it allows everyone to assess the group’s progress toward the stated target at the end of the meeting, and what enabled or hindered it.

Consider these examples:

• Meeting purpose—Information sharing.
• Meeting target—Everyone will gain an understanding of the priorities of each department and can help or stay out of the way as needed.
• Meeting purpose—Problem solving.  Meeting target—Everyone will agree on an approach for handling delinquent accounts before the end of year.
• Meeting purpose – Connection and relationship building. Meeting target – Everyone will get a deeper understanding of each other, areas of work, priorities and other key beliefs, allowing us to work better together

3. The pitfall: Lopsided participation.

We’ve all endured meetings derailed by unhelpful tangents. Meanwhile, some participants remain silent, either because they are uncomfortable, feel unequipped to contribute, or don’t see the meeting’s value. Attempts to steer the conversation back on track may fail, especially with dominant personalities overpowering the discussion.

The solution: Active participation only. To counter lopsidedness, invite participants selectively. Ask yourself, “Who must be at this meeting to achieve the desired target?” Invite only those individuals. Break the habit of inviting people just because they’ve always attended. Observers often disrupt and distract. Meetings should be for active participants, not disengaged attendees or “spectators.”

If essential participants tend to dominate conversations, address this privately. Share your expectations and coach them on the rules of engagement if necessary. The challenge lies in defying the unspoken social and political norms of your organization by inviting only those necessary to achieve the meeting’s purpose. The larger the meeting with peripheral participants, the more it signals low organizational trust.

While limiting invitations might feel like a power move or a career risk, it’s essential to clearly articulate your rationale for keeping the invite list focused. You can also seek advice from colleagues on who the essential participants might be. Understand that the first attempt to invite a smaller crew will be challenging, and subsequent efforts might be as well, but the benefits will be worth it.

Engaging the right participants allows the participants to feel buy-in, experience effective implementation, and co-author a future that aligns with your strategic goals.

4. The pitfall: the meeting ends with no defined next steps.

When no one knows what needs to be done, by whom, or by when, you can be sure of one thing: nothing will happen. If the only clear next step is to have another meeting on the same topic, you have failed.

The solution: outline topics and topic owners in advance. The purpose is the reason to move; the target is the destination; the topics are the stepping stones to get there. List the necessary topics to reach the target.

For each topic, define one outcome and assign an “owner” to lead the discussion and handle related action items. This owner drives the group to agree on the next steps before moving on. This approach not only ensures clarity but also shares accountability and balances participation.

Arrange the topics from most to least important, ensuring all are essential to the target. Cut any non-essential topics.

5. The pitfall: we’re always in meetings and never able to get things done.

Meetings often drag on to fill the allotted time, or worse, participants rush through important discussions before the clock runs out.

The solution: schedule realistically. Schedule meetings based on the actual time needed to achieve the target. Not every meeting requires an hour—some may only need 20 minutes, while others might warrant an entire afternoon. Consider a meeting’s duration as a contract with the group. Overrunning the time signals a shortage of respect for participants and their time. If this happens regularly, look into the cultural norm that tolerates this cycle of delay. If the agenda is packed and you’re concerned about time, assign a timekeeper to monitor progress against the plan. Alternatively, defer some topics to another meeting. It’s better to have thorough discussions on fewer items than to give only token consideration to important topics.

By examining your current meeting practices, you can uncover inefficiencies that reveal deeper cultural issues. Whether it’s lack of preparation, poor time management, or  dominant voices, each clue helps you make intentional changes. Redefining culture doesn’t require sweeping changes; small, deliberate steps in how you lead meetings can make a big impact. Start by clarifying meeting purposes, ensuring active participation, setting clear next steps, and scheduling realistically. Every meeting is both a microcosm of your culture—and an opportunity to reinforce your organization’s values and goals.

Imagine the ripple effect: a team leaving each meeting energized and aligned, spreading a culture of accountability, collaboration, and innovation. Small meeting changes can lead to a profound culture transformation. Remember, every well-led meeting sets the tone for a winning culture.