Ben Morton explains why back-to-back meetings drain leaders and offers three fixes: shorten them, set clear agendas, and build in a brief pause. A one- to two-minute reset between meetings—stepping away, breathing, resetting mentally—changes your state before the next one starts.
Hi there, I'm Ben Morton, and welcome to The Leader's Kitbag, the podcast that delivers practical leadership insights in less than 10 minutes. Each episode tackles a real challenge faced by leaders and managers with simple ideas and tools you can take away and apply immediately. And because leadership doesn't happen sitting behind a desk, Many of these episodes are recorded outside whilst I'm walking and thinking. They're informal, unscripted, and straight to the point. So, wherever you are, let's get started and sharpen your leadership skills one episode at a time. If you're someone who spends a lot of your day in meetings, moving from one straight to the next, then today's episode of The Leader's Kitbag is for you. One of the most common patterns I see when working with leaders is back-to-back meetings, checking our phones in between, no time to pause, no time to reset. And what tends to happen is this: we leave one meeting and within seconds we're straight into the next, often still looking at our screen, still thinking about the meeting that's just happened. And that creates a few significant problems. Number one, stress naturally follows our focus. That's useful in short bursts, but not between meetings. If we stay locked onto a screen, we stay in that narrow reactive state. And secondly, there's a delay before you fully engage in the next conversation. Yes, you might be physically present, but mentally part of you is still in the meeting that you've just left, and that can come across to the people in the next meeting as you being distracted or even a little rude. And third, you lose the processing time because without even a minute to pause, you don't get to reflect on what just happened. So over time you stay busy but you don't necessarily improve. Now, this is the point where a lot of people say to me, "Yeah, but Ben, that's just the culture here," or, "My diary's not really within my control." And yes, there will always be constraints, but this is the point where we can pause and think about something I talk about in every single leadership program that I run, and it's our circles of control and influence. So yes, you can't change or even influence the entire organization overnight, but you can absolutely take control and make changes in the meetings that you set up and control. You can make your own meetings shorter. You can make sure there's a really clear agenda. You can even build in the minutes pause at the start for people to gather their thoughts before you start. And those small changes to the meetings that you control do two things. Number one, it improves the quality of your own meetings. And number two, it starts to increase your influence because people will come to those meetings and they'll notice that they're better than the average meeting, and they'll start copying what you do. They might even talk about how great your meetings are, and then other departments start replicating what you do as well. So step by step, through some small actions, your influence really starts to grow. Because people notice. They notice how your meetings feel different. Maybe more focused, more effective. And then over time, one of two things starts to happen. They either start copying what you do in your meetings, or they start asking for your input elsewhere. And that is how real change happens. So here's a simple habit to build. Instead of moving from one meeting straight to the next, Create yourself a short transitional routine, even if it's just a minute or two. Take a chance to step away from your screen, lift your gaze ever so slightly, and just take a couple of deep breaths before moving on. And ask yourself, what do I need to let go of from my last meeting, and how do I need to show up in the next one? Because states or moods are highly contagious. So our mood or state when we enter that next meeting room doesn't just affect our own performance, but it affects everybody's performance who's in the room. So the difference between a good meeting and a great one in part comes down to what we do as a leader The minute before our next meeting starts. That's it for today's episode of The Leader's Kitbag. As always, I hope it's been useful. Look after yourself and those you've got the privilege and responsibility to lead. And until next time, lead on. Before you head off, if you enjoy the ideas we explore together here on The Leader's Kitbag, And you'd like to go a little deeper, then I've created a new leadership programme designed specifically for busy leaders and managers. It focuses on the practical side of leadership, the mindset, skills, and tools that help you support your people, make better decisions, and get the results you're accountable for. The programme is delivered live and online over several half-day sessions, making it practical and perfect to fit in around the day job. If that sounds useful, you can find out more details via the link in the show notes. That's it for now. Hopefully, I'll see you in the next programme very soon. And until then, look after yourself and those you've got the privilege and responsibility to lead.
