Why Your Meetings Suck- And How to Fix Them!
Why Your Meeting Agenda Should Be Strengths-Based
Summer often offers a natural pause in the year—a chance to breathe, reflect, and reset. In the rhythms of life and work, it’s the season where we can slow down just enough to take stock of what's working and what isn't. And what better time to rethink one of the most universally dreaded, and universally necessary parts of professional life: meetings.
If your calendar is crammed with meetings that feel more draining than productive, you’re not alone. Many teams are stuck in the same exhausting loop: too many meetings, too little clarity, and even less enthusiasm. But what if meetings could actually become something your team looks forward to?
Inspired by Patrick Lencioni’s Death by Meeting and guided by insights from the CliftonStrengths model, this blog will help you rethink the way your team gathers, plans, and makes decisions, so you can do more than survive your summer meetings. You can actually enjoy them!
The Problem with Meetings
According to Gallup, poorly run meetings are more than just a minor inconvenience; they’re a serious drain on time, energy, and productivity. Gallup’s research shows that only 1 in 3 employees strongly agree that their meetings are a good use of time. Even worse, ineffective meetings are one of the top contributors to disengagement at work.
When meetings lack purpose or structure, people check out. That costs more than just a few wasted hours. It impacts innovation, collaboration, and overall team morale. Managers often default to recurring check-ins or status updates without questioning if those rhythms still serve their purpose. Employees attend out of obligation, not anticipation.
Time is our most precious resource, and meetings are among the most expensive ways to spend it. Every gathering represents hours of collective energy. If we aren’t intentional about how we design those moments, we risk wasting what could be our most valuable opportunities for connection and progress.
But there’s good news: we can fix it. With a better framework, grounded in purpose and personalized through your team’s strengths, meetings can become the place where momentum begins, not where it stalls.
The Solution — Four Types of Meetings
Patrick Lencioni, author of Death by Meeting, proposes that the problem isn’t that we meet too often, it’s that our meetings lack clarity, consistency, and intention. He outlines four distinct types of meetings, each serving a different purpose and structure:
Daily Check-In: A 5–10 minute standing meeting to align quickly and tackle immediate logistics.
Weekly Tactical: A 45–90 minute meeting focused on short-term priorities, metrics, and problem-solving.
Monthly Strategic: A 2–4 hour deep dive into big-picture decisions, brainstorming, and adaptive challenges.
Quarterly Off-Site: A full-day or multi-day retreat for reflection, culture-building, and long-term planning.
When used intentionally, this structure turns meetings from energy drainers into productive, even energizing, touchpoints. But there’s another layer of opportunity: personalizing meetings based on your team’s unique CliftonStrengths.
CliftonStrengths Integration
Every Strength theme influences how someone experiences a meeting:
A person high in Analytical will value clear data and sound reasoning. They feel most engaged when a meeting includes strong logic and evidence.
Someone with Empathy may judge a meeting’s success by the emotional tone in the room and the quality of interpersonal connection.
Individuals with Activator want meetings to end with next steps and immediate momentum.
Those with Strategic are constantly scanning for patterns and alternative solutions, needing space to voice innovative ideas.
When meetings are aligned with participants’ dominant talents, clear outcomes for Executing themes, space for thinking for Strategic themes, strong purpose for Influencing themes, and inclusive dialogue for Relationship Building themes, people are more likely to feel seen, heard, and energized.
Practical Tips to Transform Your Meetings
If you're tired of meetings that feel like time traps instead of productive touchpoints, here are a few practical strategies to improve them, just in time for a summer reset:
1. Audit Your Meetings
Take inventory of every meeting on your calendar:
What is its purpose?
How often does it occur?
Who attends, and why?
Label each meeting using Lencioni’s four types. If a meeting doesn’t serve one of those purposes, it may be time to repurpose, restructure, or eliminate it.
2. Set Clear Expectations
Before every meeting, send:
A brief agenda (with purpose and key topics)
Expected outcomes
Who is leading which parts
This is especially helpful for Strengths like Focus, Responsibility, or Consistency, where clarity and preparation lead to better engagement.
3. Leverage Strengths
Assign roles or responsibilities based on people’s talents:
Let Strategic or Ideation thinkers lead brainstorming.
Ask those with Communication to open or summarize key takeaways.
Put those with Achiever or Discipline in charge of keeping meetings on track and outcomes clear.
Invite people with Harmony or Includer to facilitate inclusive discussions.
Meetings shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. When we align our agendas, facilitation styles, and follow-up with the natural talents on our team, meetings become more than functional—they become meaningful.
Final Thought
Your meetings reflect your culture. If you want a culture that values clarity, creativity, and connection, start by rethinking the way you meet. With the right structure and a Strengths-based lens, your meetings can go from dreaded to dynamic. And summer is the perfect time to start!