From talk to action in meetings

The hidden power of team collaboration

Imagine two identical teams: same talent, same resources and the same goals. One moves fast and makes good decisions. The other gets stuck and fails to move forward. What sets them apart? Why does one move ahead and the other does not?

We usually attribute a team’s progress to the experience and capability of each member, but I believe there is a less visible and much more decisive factor, the team’s ability to collaborate. When that ability fails, meetings drag on and decisions get watered down. And it is not because intelligence is lacking, it is because leadership is missing in the collaboration process. What do I mean by that?

Essentially, a meeting is a method for making decisions. But not all meetings are the same. Some are for exploring, others for deciding and others for informing. Mixing objectives in the same meeting is a recipe for disaster. That is why, before you start, ask yourself: What is the goal of this meeting? Are we here to think, to decide or to inform?

When the objective is clear, important things start to reveal themselves: who speaks, who decides, what information is missing and, above all, why we are not moving toward the expected outcome. With that information, it becomes easier to take on that invisible but crucial role, being the person who helps the group navigate from chaos to certainty, with clear decisions, next steps and owners.

What is interesting is that the more people assume that role, the more the impact of the meeting multiplies. And that does not mean everyone has to decide about everything. Having clarity about who collaborates, who decides and who executes reduces friction and accelerates results.

In short, a good meeting needs clear boundaries (time, objective and roles), and it also needs someone who takes responsibility for the collaboration process. Without collaboration, talent does not matter much, because that meeting will not have been very useful.