Too many organisations have allowed meetings to devolve into KPI tribunals — sessions where metrics are pored over, blame is handed out, and people leave more deflated than developed.
It’s a flawed practice, and one that ultimately erodes culture, trust, and performance.
Let’s be clear: when people consistently fail to meet targets, it’s rarely a people problem — it’s a leadership problem. Whether it’s poor delegation, unclear expectations, or a lack of development, underperformance is often rooted in the behaviours of those leading, not those following.
In fact, a Gallup study found that 70% of the variance in team engagement is directly attributable to the quality of the manager. That tells us everything: performance begins and ends with leadership.
So why are we still using meetings to punish instead of progress?
KPI reviews should never be the centrepiece of your meetings. If you’re serious about performance, KPIs should be visible, reviewed, and addressed daily — not stockpiled for a monthly ambush. If your only visibility on key metrics comes during a set meeting, you’ve already lost the cadence of leadership.
Instead, the most effective leaders use meetings to do four critical things:
1. Celebrate Wins – Recognition builds energy. Acknowledging progress, however small, lifts morale and reinforces the behaviours that drive results.
2. Identify Challenges – High-performing cultures are honest. People need to feel safe to share what’s getting in their way, or you’ll only ever get part of the truth.
3. Develop Solutions – Don’t just highlight problems — facilitate collective problem-solving. That’s where innovation and ownership grow.
4. Train People to Be Better Than Today – Every meeting should have a development moment. Whether it’s a new perspective, insight, or skill, your people should walk away stronger.
If your meetings aren’t building people, they’re breaking momentum, and over time, that compounds — in turnover, disengagement, and missed opportunity.
Top 2 Tips to Make Meetings Count:
Meetings should be your leadership leverage point.
Use them wisely — and watch your culture transform.
