Olimova Mohinur

6. Wrap when the meeting ends, not the time. 

One of the more common problems teams face in meetings 

is that they tend to fill the time they’re scheduled for, and 

sometimes run over, all without accomplishing anything. 

The presentation or discussion will drag on without strong 

direction, or topics outside of the original scope of the 

meeting will creep in to fill extra time. 

If you don’t go into a meeting with an outcome in mind, 

how can you know when the meeting is done? This is why 

we talked about the importance of an agenda. 

Yet, even with a strong statement of the goals of the 

meeting, it’s easy to fall in the trap of “making use of the 

time while everyone is here.” 

If the point of a meeting you’re in is to make a decision or 

accomplish something, shouldn’t the meeting end when 

you make the decision or finish that task? 

If you’re going into every meeting with a purpose or 

outcome, you should wrap when the meeting ends, not 

when time is up, as I shared in a recent podcast interview 

with WovenTeams.  

If you’re trying to emphasize the importance of 

preparation and purpose in your meetings, then letting 

other topics slip in is totally counterproductive; it creates 

opportunities for unprepared topics to start being 

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discussed, or simply wastes everyone’s time that could be 

better spent doing other things. 

Much like shutting down a meeting with no agenda 

signifies the importance of preparation and planning 

before a meeting, ending early because the meeting’s goal 

is accomplished signifies to your team that focus matters, 

and everyone’s time is valuable. 

 

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