Making Meetings Suck Less: Advice From Dr. Steven Rogelberg

Meetings are ubiquitous in the modern workplace, with an estimated 1 billion meetings happening every day. Half of those probably could have been an email, and many employees view meetings as a major time waster and source of frustration.

On the Radical Candor podcast, Kim Scott and Amy Sandler explore insights from organizational psychologist Dr. Steven Rogelberg , author of The Surprising Science of Meetings and Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings, on how to make meetings more effective and productive.

Establish Norms and Accountability

One of the key problems with meetings is that many organizations lack clear norms and accountability around them. Dr. Rogelberg suggests that leaders need to "have a meeting about meetings" to establish shared expectations and best practices. This could include:

• Framing meeting agendas as a set of questions to be answered, rather than just a list of topics to discuss. This forces organizers to be intentional about the purpose of the meeting.
• Designating a "meeting owner" who is responsible for the effectiveness and outcomes of the gathering.
• Soliciting feedback from attendees after meetings to identify areas for improvement.

Embrace Silence and Written Communication

Another insight from Dr. Rogelberg's research is the power of silence and written communication in meetings. He found that brainstorming sessions where participants typed ideas into a shared document generated nearly twice as many (and more creative) ideas compared to verbal brainstorming.

The reason? Written communication reduces the influence of dominant voices and allows introverted participants to contribute more freely. Dr. Rogelberg suggests incorporating silent idea generation and written contributions as a norm in meetings to unleash more creativity and participation.

Focus On One-on-Ones

While group meetings often frustrate employees, Dr. Rogelberg found that one-on-one meetings between managers and direct reports are highly valued. These focused, agenda-free conversations allow managers to truly listen to and support their team members.

The key is for managers to let the employee drive the discussion, avoid micromanaging , and focus on understanding the person's needs, goals, and challenges. Dr. Rogelberg emphasizes that one-on-ones are about building genuine connection and relationships, not just status updates.

As Kim says, managers should treat one-on-ones like important "meetings with God" — sacred time that is protected and honored.

Respect Time and Attention

Finally, Dr. Rogelberg underscores the importance of respecting people's time and attention. This means being intentional about scheduling meetings, clustering them with breaks in between, and blocking off time for focused, uninterrupted work.

By valuing people's time and cognitive resources, organizations can reduce the burden of meetings and enable more productive, focused work.

While meetings are a necessary part of modern work, there are proven strategies to make them suck less.

By establishing norms, embracing silence, prioritizing one-on-ones, and respecting time, organizations can transform meetings from a source of frustration to a vehicle for collaboration, creativity, and connection.

Tune in to the Radical Candor? Podcast to learn to love your job and kick a** at work without losing your humanity by practicing the principles of Radical Candor. Host and Lead Radical Candor Coach Amy Sandler leads discussions with Radical Candor Author and Co-founder Kim Scott and CEO and Co-founder Jason Rosoff about what it means to be Radically Candid, why it’s simple but not easy to Care Personally and Challenge Directly on the daily, and why it’s worth it. Want to bring Radical Candor to your team? Drew Muir or Dan Greene can help! Have a topic you want us to discuss? Email it to [email protected] .