Lencioni: Meetings Are A Chief Executive’s Stage

If you were going to evaluate a surgeon’s skill, where would you want to observe her? In the operating room during surgery, right? What about an actor? On stage, of course. And how about a teacher? Clearly, in a class with students. You get the idea.

Now brace yourself: What would be the best setting for evaluating a CEO? There is only one answer: in a conference room having a meeting with his or her executive team. As hard as that might be to accept, what else could it be?

Yet, many CEOs openly complain about meetings—which is ridiculous. Imagine a surgeon complaining about the operating room or an actor about the stage. You’d probably advise them to change careers. But somehow, we’ve come to accept that it is reasonable to dread meetings. This deserves a closer look.