Most leadership team meetings are a waste of time.
Harsh? Maybe. True? Absolutely.
If your leadership meetings are just updates, discussions, and endless debates, you’re missing the point. Every leadership meeting should result in actions that make the company better next week. Otherwise, you’re just talking in circles.
What’s wrong with most Leadership Meetings?
Too many leadership teams fall into the trap of routine meetings that feel productive but actually change nothing. The signs?
❌ Discussions that go nowhere.
❌ The same problems being raised every week.
❌ No one leaves the meeting knowing exactly what to do next.
❌ Decisions get pushed to ‘next time.’
A Leadership Meeting is a Decision-Making Machine
Great leadership teams don’t meet to ‘catch up.’ They meet to solve problems, remove roadblocks, and push the business forward.
A high-impact leadership meeting should always:
✅ Identify real issues—not just symptoms.
✅ Assign clear actions with owners and deadlines.
✅ Create accountability—so nothing slips through the cracks.
✅ Improve the business—starting next week, not someday.
✅ Track progress using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure real impact.
Fixing your Leadership Meetings
Want to make sure your meetings are actually worth the time? Do this:
1️⃣ Start with the hard questions. What’s stopping us from moving faster? What’s slowing down decision-making? What’s creating friction in the team?
2️⃣ Set non-negotiable outcomes. If every leader can’t leave the meeting with one action that will improve the company this week, the meeting failed.
3️⃣ Eliminate the noise. If an issue doesn’t need the leadership team’s input, it doesn’t belong in the meeting.
4️⃣ Own the results. At the start of the next meeting, the first question should be: What did we actually fix last week?
5️⃣ Use KPIs to measure success. Define and track key metrics that reflect leadership impact—such as decision-making speed, issue resolution time, and strategic execution rates.
If your meetings don’t improve the business, why have them?
Your leadership team should be the engine that drives growth, alignment, and execution. If your meetings don’t create that momentum, they’re just expensive conversations.
So next time you sit down for your leadership meeting, ask yourself: What are we improving this week? If the answer isn’t clear, you have work to do.