Know What's Happening in Management

Lead Better - Why Meetings Are Often Less Productive Than They Could Be

In this episode of Lead Better, hosts Scott Baker, Sierra Holland, and guest Mikey dissect why meetings often fall short of their potential and explore practical tactics to boost productivity. They highlight the low rates of pre‑read completion—under 50% generally and just 18% for remote Zoom meetings—and discuss research showing that announcing pre‑reads in a live setting dramatically increases compliance. The conversation also delves into the Elaboration Likelihood Model, illustrating how cognitive overload and lack of preparation push participants toward heuristic shortcuts rather than deep analysis. Finally, they compare different meeting formats—consensus‑building versus brainstorming—and suggest tailoring pre‑read strategies and framing questions to match the meeting’s purpose.