Review of meeting research says leaders should listen more

A review of research on workplace meetings says listening can matter more than speaking, and suggests that leaders may benefit from talking less. The findings appear in the 2026 Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, which brings together more than three decades of meeting research.

The review’s contributors say improved written records and recordings of online meetings have expanded the data available to researchers. That evidence can help identify what makes meetings constructive, though the summary does not describe a specific method or quantify the effect of any recommendation.

Industrial and organizational psychologist Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, a contributor to the review and director of the Center for Better Work at the University of Hamburg, said leaders often speak the most and may therefore judge their meetings favorably. She said a structured warm-up can help quieter and more introverted participants contribute more actively.

Cognitive scientist Ava Scott of the University of Copenhagen said a lack of structure can make meetings feel purposeless. The review also argues that meetings that are going nowhere should be abandoned. Its findings suggest that leaders’ impressions of a meeting’s success may differ from those of other participants.