Eight hours of real work capacity. Fourteen meetings on the calendar. The math has never worked …
…and yet somewhere along the way we all agreed that this is what a workday looks like.
In this episode, Lynsey names the meeting culture problem for what it is: not a scheduling issue, but a culture that quietly turns you into a very expensive FYI. Drawing on 26 years in corporate leadership, including the day she logged on to find 21 meetings stacked into an 8-hour day, Lynsey breaks down the four hidden costs of meeting overload and hands you a practical playbook to change it from the inside, without a mandate, a memo, or permission.
Together we will talk about:
- Why meetings became the default answer to everything, and what that is really costing you
- The four hidden costs of meeting culture: decision fatigue, pressure procrastination, strategic starvation, and the ripple effect that follows you home
- The leader track: auditing the meetings you own, shrinking default meeting lengths, making attendance honest, and protecting visible thinking time
- The individual contributor track: the one magic question to ask before accepting any invite, the graceful script for declining, and how to make the meetings you do attend better
- How to spot the pattern creeping back in, even when you thought you had it handled
One line to take with you:
“Your calendar is full, but your real work is
homeless.”
This week’s challenge:
Pick the single meeting on your calendar where you contribute the least, then either ask the organizer what is actually needed from you or ask for the notes instead. One meeting. Watch what it does for your energy, and for the people watching you.
Connect with Lynsey:
Follow Lead with Spark on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podbean so you never miss an episode, and leave a review if this one hit home
- Free Crack Your Code BANK assessment
- Website: LynseyMulder.com
- Facebook: @LynseySMulder
- LinkedIn: @Lynsey-Mulder
- Instagram: @LynseyMulder
- Pinterest: @LynseyMulder
- YouTube: @LynseyMulder
Ready to go deeper? Learn about the Audaciously Unapologetic retreat in Carefree, Arizona at
audaciouslyunapologetic.com
Related listening: E54 The Tactical Trap, on why tactical competence becomes a ceiling for senior leaders.
