Nowadays, everyone seems to hate meetings. And, very much like a broken relationship, we keep having them all the same. Obviously, we can't get rid of meetings, so I think it's a good thing to see how we can make them worth the effort.

Kate Matsudeira hates meetings, too. As a leader, she spends a lot of time in meetings, and she wants that time to return as much value as possible.

"Thankfully wasteful meetings don’t have to be the course du jour. No matter what kind of meetings you’re involved in, you can do a lot to make that time more productive.  In fact as you can make everyone’s time more useful by simply being prepared."

Kate finds that there are two main causes for bad meetings:

• They lack structure or purpose
• Leaders come to them with unrealistic expectations

Both causes have their roots in communication. And she offers really good advice that I know to work from my own experience. Recommended reading!