It’s easy to dismiss routine meetings as a waste of time, but new insights suggest they may play a more important role in leadership than we think.
In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Elizabeth Trinh, a PhD candidate at Michigan Ross and a Sanger Research Lab member, challenges the instinct to skip meetings that seem low-value on the surface. These moments, she argues, can serve as important touchpoints for building alignment, maintaining relationships, and staying connected to the broader context of a team’s work.
For leaders, the takeaway is simple: not every meeting needs to feel high-stakes to have an impact. Showing up consistently, even in spaces that seem routine, can reinforce trust, surface useful insights, and strengthen team cohesion over time.