February
05,
2026
If you want to assess the health of your organization, pay attention to your meetings.
Many organizations want a culture that promotes innovation, risk-taking, respect, safety, and inclusion. But does your organizational culture really live up to those values? There’s an easy way to find out.
If you want to understand an organization’s culture, don’t read its values statement or mission – sit in on its meetings.
Because meetings are culture in action. They show what works in a company — how people relate, communicate, make decisions, and spend time.
Meetings are microcosms of the organization. They’re where values become visible — not in posters or mission statements, but in habits.
Observe what happens in meetings, then decide what that reveals about your culture. Does it match what your organization wants to be?
Power in the Room
Who speaks — and who doesn’t — tells you everything about power and hierarchy.
- Sometimes one leader dominates and decisions are made by decree. Is it more of a speech or a meeting? Are others contributing? Or does silence equal safety?
If ideas flow freely, that’s a sign of trust and inclusion. Your organization is making space for dissent and curiosity.
Decision-Making in Real Time
Meetings reveal how your organization makes and executes decisions. Or do they get made at all?
- Cultures that prize accountability make decisions, document them, establish accountability and ownership, and move on.
- Cultures that fear conflict circle endlessly, adding another meeting to “discuss further.”
When teams leave a meeting knowing exactly who’s doing what and why, that’s a culture of clarity, alignment, and execution. When they leave unsure, that’s a sign of culture too.
Respect for Time = Respect for People
A meeting that starts late, lacks an agenda, or drifts without purpose isn’t just inefficient — it’s disrespectful. How does your organization use time?
- A disciplined meeting culture signals a disciplined organization. It tells employees their time is valuable, and that the organization runs on intention, not inertia.
- The opposite — calendar clutter, over-meeting, endless status updates – says, “We don’t trust, we don’t prioritize, and we don’t empower.”
Psychological Safety on Display
Meetings are the stage for psychological safety: the belief that people can take risks without fear. Let’s focus on what we can observe:
- Do team members share half-formed ideas or only polished ones?
- Do they admit what they don’t know or keep it to themselves and catch up later?
- When someone challenges the group, does it spark energy or awkward quiet?
The answers show whether learning and innovation are truly valued or just talked about.
Inclusion Is Visible
In today’s hybrid world, inclusion shows up (or doesn’t) in every meeting.
- Are remote voices invited in or do you have to be in the room to get a word in?
- Are junior employees heard or only leadership?
- Are meetings designed for all communication styles or just the loudest?
Inclusive meetings create belonging. Exclusive ones reinforce walls.
Meetings as a Mirror
Every organization has rituals that shape its culture. Meetings are one of the most powerful — and the most overlooked. Think about the culture you want and the one your meetings reveal.
- They can reinforce hierarchy or build empowerment.
- They can waste time or create alignment and performance.
- They can drain energy or build trust.
Meetings aren’t just about productivity; they’re about identity.
Take a hard look at your meetings, and you might just fix your culture.
Want a quick assessment tool? Use this one: Meeting Health Assessment
Want to explore this topic in more detail or learn more about Emerson? Hop on his calendar: Book a meeting with Rich
