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Why Finkel’s Leadership Practices for Meetings Fall Short: The Lumen Culture Solution
Ilan Gross
29 January 2025
Why David Finkel's "Better Meetings Need Better Leaders" Falls Short—and How Lumen Business Culture Fills the Gaps
David Finkel’s article, “Better Meetings Need Better Leaders,” highlights essential practices for effective meetings, focusing on punctuality, clear agendas, inclusivity, and staying aligned with objectives. While these principles are important, they present several challenges in practical implementation. More importantly, they don’t address the deeper organizational culture issues that are critical to long-term success.
At Lumen Business Solutions, we believe that while Finkel’s strategies are a good starting point, they lack the depth and systemic approach necessary to address the complexities of real-world business environments. Here’s where our Lumen Business Culture framework steps in to bridge these gaps.
1. Encouraging Participation from All Attendees—But How?
Finkel suggests that fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts will lead to diverse perspectives and enhanced collaboration. But the question remains: how do you make this happen in practice?
The Problem:
- Not all team members feel equally empowered to share their ideas due to personality differences, cultural backgrounds, or hierarchical dynamics.
- Simply creating a “comfortable environment” doesn’t guarantee meaningful participation or critical thinking.
Lumen's Answer:
Our Cultivo Framework goes beyond surface-level inclusivity by embedding psychological safety and accountability into the organizational culture. At Lumen:
- We Embrace Mistakes: Mistakes are reframed as learning opportunities, creating an atmosphere where employees feel safe taking risks.
- We Cultivate Listening: Leaders are trained to actively listen and encourage quieter voices in meetings, ensuring everyone’s contributions are valued.
- We Credit Idea Creators: To prevent idea appropriation, we instill a practice of consistently acknowledging and attributing ideas to their originators. This not only motivates innovation but also ensures fairness and trust.
2. Measuring the Effectiveness of Diverse Perspectives
Finkel assumes that diverse perspectives naturally enhance collaboration. However, diversity without clear metrics or critical thinking can lead to inefficiency or even conflict.
The Problem:
- How do you know if the inclusion of diverse perspectives is genuinely leading to better decisions or outcomes?
- Without clear benchmarks, meetings can become unfocused, reducing their impact.
Lumen's Answer:
At Lumen, we believe in using a forward-thinking approach to evaluate outcomes:
- Agreed Terms of Reference: Before every meeting, we ensure that key terms and objectives are defined collaboratively, whether it’s a sales meeting or a software development discussion.
- Critical Thinking as a Standard: Our framework incorporates contrarian thinking and reflective learning as standard practices, ensuring that ideas are not just heard but rigorously analyzed.
- Outcome-Based Feedback: We measure the success of meetings by tracking whether decisions lead to actionable, impactful results. Post-meeting reviews focus on what worked, what didn’t, and why.
3. Avoiding Idea Appropriation and Building Trust
One of the most overlooked issues in Finkel’s framework is the potential for idea appropriation—when someone’s contribution is taken without proper credit, leading to resentment and decreased morale.
The Problem:
One of the most overlooked issues in Finkel’s framework is the potential for idea appropriation—when someone’s contribution is taken without proper credit, leading to resentment and decreased morale.
Lumen's Answer:
Our culture is rooted in Judeo-Christian values, emphasizing mutual respect and recognition:
- Guilt-Based Culture vs. Shame-Based Culture: At Lumen, we focus on individual accountability rather than external judgment. This ensures that team members feel valued for their contributions without fear of judgment or losing face.
- Leadership Through Humility: Leaders at Lumen model transparency by openly crediting team members for their ideas and admitting their own mistakes. This builds trust and sets a powerful example for the entire organization.
4. Critical Thinking: The Missing Ingredient
Finkel’s approach focuses on process efficiency but fails to highlight the importance of fostering critical thinking within meetings.
The Problem:
- Without critical thinking, meetings risk becoming echo chambers where ideas aren’t challenged or refined.
- Decisions made in such environments are often superficial and fail to address deeper issues.
Lumen's Answer:
At Lumen, we embed critical thinking into our high-performance culture:
- Challenging the Norm: We encourage contrarian thinking to uncover hidden assumptions and explore alternative possibilities.
- Structured Feedback Loops: Regular strategic reviews help refine ideas and ensure they align with long-term goals.
- Innovation Through Perseverance: Our disciplined approach pushes teams to go beyond surface-level solutions, driving them to achieve groundbreaking insights.
What Happens If You Don’t Follow Lumen Business Culture?
Without the principles of Lumen Business Culture, organizations risk:
- Superficial Inclusivity: Diverse perspectives are invited but not effectively utilized.
- Lack of Accountability: Ideas are taken without acknowledgment, breeding distrust.
- Missed Opportunities: Without critical thinking, teams settle for the obvious rather than exploring innovative solutions.
- Cultural Stagnation: Meetings become routine, failing to inspire growth or collaboration.
Conclusion: Why Lumen Business Culture is the Answer
Finkel’s strategies offer a solid foundation for improving meeting dynamics, but they fall short of addressing the deeper cultural shifts needed for sustained success. Lumen Business Culture fills these gaps by providing a comprehensive framework that fosters trust, accountability, critical thinking, and innovation.
By adopting the principles of Cultivo, organizations can transform their meetings—and their entire culture—into engines of growth, collaboration, and excellence.
Have questions or want more insights on adopting Lumen's Cultivo?
Feel free to reach out to us, and let’s continue the conversation on cultivating better listening and healthier business cultures.
Ilan Gross
