Are you walking into your next meeting seeking confirmation of your fears or confirmation that everyone was smart to set the meeting up? My strong anecdotal evidence is less than 30% of business meetings I have attended in my career have a majority of attendees with the latter mindset.

24 years ago I worked for Jay, an EVP of an international financial services company in Kansas City. He’d host a weekly meeting and then call me in immediately afterwards to his office. While tweaking his moustache, his Midwestern US words would roll off his tongue with vitriol. “Did you hear what Dora said? She is constantly screwing my plans. I am going to fire her!” This same meeting would take place every week, accept for the holidays. I was there to listen to his venting. When I’d calmly point out, she has certain issues, he’d retort, “screw her issues.”

Listening is important but fresh air cannot come in, if you insist on keeping the doors closed or cease to be mindful of others in the room.

If you are a Meeting Host, be honest with me, are you routinely overlooking the predisposition of those sitting around the table? If so, your agenda and the meeting “mechanics” are irrelevant. Zero plan to address the attendees’ emotional and psychological issues, zero commitment.