They are.
Being in a ZOOM or a TEAMS call with a bunch of other people, talking about something.
You’re safe.
You’re not putting anything new out there.
You’re not challenging anything.
You’re not taking any action.
You’re not changing direction.
You’re talking about what may or may not happen.
You’re thinking about what someone just said.
In these cases, meetings feel safe because we can talk about things but we do after them is up to us, and everyone else.
The ones that make meetings dangerous?
Come with a plan.
Know the objective.
Have the hard conversations and work through the problem.
A great way to look busy is to have a meetings.
Instead, why not focus on enabling your team to move ahead without having the meetings, to empower them to make decisions and own problems without needing a meeting.
We are living in a culture of meetings not because we choose to be, but because we are defaulting to them.
