What if You Could Turn Meetings into Momentum? Here’s Why Your Calendar Isn’t the Real Problem.

Lately, I’ve been working with teams and leaders who are starting to notice something’s off. Their calendars are packed, their days are full, but progress feels stuck.

Interestingly, the problems they’re facing fall into two very different, almost opposite, camps.

On one side, people feel overwhelmed.
“We’re in meetings all day,” they tell me, “but nothing really happens.”

They describe long, one-way sessions where they’re expected to listen but not contribute. The energy is low, the purpose unclear, and their calendars feel more like a burden than a tool.

On the other side, I hear the opposite:
“We don’t meet enough to align. It’s hard to collaborate.”

This group wishes for more space to connect, share ideas, and make decisions together. They’re not drained by too many meetings. They’re stuck because they don’t have the right ones.

What’s surprising is that, despite how different these complaints sound, they share the same root cause: confusion about the purpose of meetings and the role they play in the overall workflow.

It’s not a “meeting problem.”
It’s a workflow design problem.

Meetings Are Overused and Underdesigned

Some teams have too many meetings. Others don’t have enough.
But in both cases, the real issue is the same: most meetings are underdesigned.

We default to meetings without questioning why we’re having them or whether they’re even the right tool for the job. And when we do meet, the structure often doesn’t fit the goal. Updates, brainstorming, and decisions all get crammed into one long block, with unclear roles and no clear outcomes.

The result?
Frustration. Burnout. Missed opportunities.
And collaboration that never quite clicks, slowing things down instead of speeding them up.

This hits especially hard in diverse, cross-functional, hybrid, or international teams where clarity and intention in how we connect are even more essential. 

So, How Do We Fix This?

You don’t fix meetings by simply having fewer of them.

You fix them by making them work better and by being more intentional about why they exist, how they’re designed, and what they’re meant to move forward.

Here’s how I guide teams through that process:

1. Start with a Meeting Audit

Take a clear-eyed look at the meetings on your calendar. For each one, ask:

• What’s the purpose?
  
  
• How long does it take, and what’s the time cost in total?
  
  
• What real value is it delivering?
  
  
• Could it be eliminated, shortened, or shifted to async?
  
  
• Is there a type of meeting that’s missing?
  
  

This simple audit reveals what’s working, what’s draining your time, and where a redesign is overdue.

2. Redesign the Meetings That Matter

Once you’ve identified which meetings are worth keeping, or which ones are missing,  it’s time to redesign them with purpose.

As an Associate of Fearless Culture, I support my clients in exploring essential questions using powerful culture design tools like the Meeting Design Canvas:

• What’s the actual purpose of this meeting?
  
  
• Who really needs to be there and what role will they play?
  
  
• Are we here to generate ideas (flare) or make decisions (focus)?
  💡 Tip: Our brains don’t switch easily between divergent and convergent thinking.
  
  
• What should people walk away with?
  
  

Fearless Culture methods and frameworks like this are designed to help teams not just redesign their meetings — but reshape their entire collaboration culture, ensuring that every interaction supports clarity, trust, and real progress.

🌍 Multicultural note:
If you're working in an international or culturally diverse team, remember that expectations around meetings can vary widely. Clarify the purpose, process, and expected outcomes more explicitly than you would with a monocultural team. It makes a bigger difference than you think.

Design meetings that people look forward to, not ones they try to avoid.

3. Use Meeting Design Principles That Work

💬 "It's incredible how, sometimes, a seemingly minor change, like re-structuring our meeting practices, can have such a profound impact. This process not only streamlined our operations, but also strengthened our bond as a team."
— Karoliina, Export Director

Good meeting design isn’t just about having a smart agenda.
It’s about creating the right conditions for thinking, deciding, and collaborating.

Here are a few principles that consistently help teams make meetings more effective (and less exhausting):

Blend pre-work with live discussion

Share materials, context, or data in advance so meeting time can focus on what matters most: dialogue, alignment, and action.
Don’t forget the follow-up: documenting decisions and next steps keeps momentum going.

Label your agenda clearly

Is this meeting for sharing information, generating ideas, or making decisions? Label each item so participants know what’s expected and can come prepared with the right mindset.

Match the mindset to the task

Are you opening up the space to explore (Flare)? Or narrowing in to choose (Focus)?
💡 Trying to do both at once confuses participants and weakens outcomes.

Rethink participation

Make meetings optional when you can. When people choose to be in the room, they show up with more ownership and energy. Don’t default to “everyone joins.” Invite the voices that matter for the purpose at hand.

Design for energy and focus

Break up long sessions with small-group conversations, energisers, or intentional pauses.
A little structure can go a long way toward keeping engagement high and mental fatigue low.

In Summary

When meetings are thoughtfully designed with purpose, flow, and people in mind, they stop being time sinks.
They become powerful moments of clarity, inclusion, and forward motion.

This isn’t about meeting more.
And it’s not just about meeting less.
It’s about meeting smarter.

It’s about making meetings a meaningful part of how your team thinks, decides, and moves, not a barrier to progress, but a driver of it.

Let’s Make Your Meetings Work for You

💬 Need help designing a meeting system that actually fuels performance?
👉 Get in touch — let’s turn your meetings into momentum.

While you're here, you might enjoy these other reads from our blog:

Is Investing in Cultural Diversity Worth It In Business? What Leading Research Tells Us.

Leveraging Cognitive Skills for Team Success: Analytical and Creative Thinking

Evolving Together: The Journey from Groups to High-Performing Global Teams.