Meetings, workshops, and sessions are only as valuable as the outcomes they drive—and the learning they inspire. Too often, though, we treat meetings as “done” once the calendar notification disappears. That means we miss out on rich opportunities to improve the way we run them.
The truth is, better meetings don’t happen by accident—they happen when managers and individual contributors intentionally close the loop with feedback. Here’s how both sides of the table can make that happen.
For Managers: Asking for Actionable Feedback
If you want better meetings, you have to design the feedback process with specificity in mind. Vague “How’d that go?” questions usually get vague answers. Instead, use focused questions that prompt people to reflect and share clear takeaways you can act on.
Here are 5 great questions to get better feedback from your team after a session or meeting:
- "What’s one thing from this meeting that will help you in your work this week?"
– This highlights practical value (or lack thereof). - "Was there anything we discussed today that felt like a poor use of time?"
– This gives permission to surface inefficiencies without feeling like they’re complaining. - "If we ran this meeting again, what’s the one thing you’d change?"
– Encourages constructive suggestions instead of blanket criticism. - "Were you clear on the desired outcome of the meeting before it started?"
– Tests whether expectations were communicated effectively. - "What’s something we could have done before the meeting to make it more productive?"
– Drives ideas for prep work that could shorten future meetings.
You can gather answers via a quick poll, an anonymous survey, or even a short 1:1 follow-up—whatever fits your team culture best.
For Individual Contributors: Giving Feedback That Gets Heard
If you’re on the receiving end of meetings that don’t seem like a great use of time, you have two choices:
- Quietly disengage and hope things improve.
- Offer thoughtful feedback that helps improve the process for everyone.
To do this effectively:
- Anchor feedback to outcomes, not emotions. Instead of “That meeting was useless,” try “We spent 45 minutes discussing X, but I’m unclear on the next steps. Could we tighten that agenda next time?”
- Frame your point as a shared goal. Position it as a way to help the team be more productive, not as a personal grievance.
- Offer an alternative. If you believe a meeting could be replaced by an email, suggest that—then explain the benefit (time saved, faster decisions, more focus on customer work).
- Pick the right moment. Feedback lands better in a calm follow-up than in the middle of a meeting.
- Acknowledge what worked. Even in a meeting that felt inefficient, point out one useful part—it makes the constructive part easier to hear.
The Carefrontation Connection
Here’s the reality: If your organization doesn’t have a foundation of Carefrontation—caring personally while challenging directly—then giving or receiving tough feedback about meeting effectiveness can feel unsafe. Without that trust, people often avoid telling the truth about wasted time, confusing agendas, or unclear outcomes.
The best meeting improvements happen in cultures where honest feedback isn’t punished but valued. So whether you’re a manager asking for input or a sales rep offering it upward, the goal is the same: create a space where feedback is a tool for improvement, not a weapon for criticism.
The next time you wrap a meeting, remember—closing the feedback loop is just as important as closing the meeting itself.
