The no agenda agenda. Why leadership teams need to pause before they push.
By 7pm, Jeff was almost ready for the board session. Almost. As a principal at a boutique consulting firm, he had spent weeks designing the perfect four-hour strategy workshop for a major telco client. The stakes were high — not just for the company, but for Jeff personally. A successful session might finally earn him a long-coveted promotion to partner.
That evening, Jeff checked in with his wife, Laura. Throughout his career, she had been a calm and trusted sounding board. Laura worked as a family therapist, specializing in team dynamics, and was often praised by her clients for her ability to bring clarity and connection in moments of pressure.
Jeff walked her through the session’s agenda — a carefully sequenced mix of strategy discussion, vision alignment, and key decisions.
Laura nodded. “This looks solid,” she said. “You’re covering the right topics and asking good questions to help the board make progress.” Jeff felt relieved. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear.” Then she added: “And… it’s jam-packed. There’s no room for the board to pause, reflect, or even connect.”
Jeff tensed. The CEO had already approved the agenda. The session was at 9 a.m. the next morning. Now what?
Laura smiled and offered a small but powerful suggestion. “How about starting with a genuine check-in? Not just the usual polite ‘How’s it going?’ before diving into the work. But an intentional moment: ‘How do you show up here today?’”
Jeff hesitated. He liked the idea but wasn’t sure how it would land. Still, it might only take 10 minutes. And coming from Laura, it felt worth trying.
As he left the next morning, Laura added one more piece of advice: “Let them know the agenda’s full — but also say you’re open to adjusting the timeline depending on what comes up during the check-in.”
Jeff was puzzled. What could possibly come up in a ten-minute check-in that would shift the whole session?
At 1:03pm, Laura received a message: 👍😊 “One of the best sessions I’ve ever done. Can’t wait to tell you tonight.”
When she got home that evening, Jeff greeted her at the door with a big smile. “Thank you. That advice was gold.”
He explained what happened. “I wasn’t sure it would work. But I trusted you — worst case, it would be a few minutes lost. But as soon as I asked, ‘How do you show up here today?’, the whole atmosphere changed.”
Jeff continued: “Board members became more present, more curious, more engaged. Sandra, the head of consumer markets, spoke first. She shared that, seven months into her role, she still felt uncertain — especially about the talent depth in her team. Then the CFO — tall, stern, always polished — said he felt restless. ‘We’re playing it safe,’ he said. ‘We’re optimizing what we have, but losing sight of radical innovation. We’re overdue for a big bet.’”
Laura nodded. “Sounds like things worth surfacing before jumping into strategy.” “Exactly,” Jeff said. “That check-in lasted almost two hours. During the coffee break, the CEO told me it was probably the best use of board time in months. He said the team tends to default to action — but today, they got to the heart of what matters.”
In the end, the session delivered a bold new strategy — one that included a commitment to workforce reskilling, and a renewed focus on breakthrough innovation. But without that early moment of openness, many of the team’s deeper concerns might have remained hidden. They would’ve launched a strategy on shaky ground.
Why this matters
Senior leadership teams operate under intense pressure. They race from decision to decision, working tirelessly to remove roadblocks and push strategy forward. As a result, board agendas often become overloaded with urgent, tactical items. Every minute counts. There’s no time to waste.
And yet — maybe that’s exactly why we should pause.
The no agenda agenda is the counterintuitive practice of carving out time — not to cover more topics, but to connect as people. To ask: How are we really showing up today?
It may feel unusual. Even risky. But it’s one of the most powerful tools for building trust, resilience, and long-term effectiveness.
Thanks to Laura, Jeff — now a partner at his firm — runs a deliberate two-hour check-in with his senior clients every quarter. The results speak for themselves.
Three tips for a productive check-in
Frame it for team effectiveness. This isn’t therapy. It’s about surfacing root causes, connecting the dots, and helping each other solve the real problems — not just the obvious ones.
Trust the process. Don’t expect people to open up immediately. For most senior teams, this is a new habit. Participation might start surface-level — that’s okay. The key is consistency.
Link the check-in to what comes next. Don’t let it become a stand-alone ritual. Use it to inform strategy, decision-making, or priorities. The most powerful changes often start small — and compound over time.