There is a particular kind of work that is surprisingly difficult to stop: work that used to make sense. The meeting solved a problem. The report helped people make decisions. Nobody made a bad decision by starting it, which makes questioning its continuation feel somewhat disloyal.
So it stays. People prepare the slides and carry the responsibility into another quarter. Meanwhile, leaders ask how to create more capacity. Before adding another productivity tool, consider this: what are we continuing because it once made a positive impact?
A Good Reason to Begin
Imagine an engineering firm that introduces a weekly leadership review during a difficult project recovery. Six months later, the project is stable and staffing decisions happen elsewhere. Yet eight people still spend an hour reviewing updates every Thursday.
Asked what the meeting accomplishes, someone answers, “This helped us get the project under control.” That explains why it began. Whether it deserves the same investment today is a separate question.
That distinction becomes uncomfortable when we championed the initiative. We may find ourselves protecting our earlier judgment. Someone else may have invested considerable effort in making it work. Ending the activity can feel like dismissing that contribution, even when its purpose has been fulfilled.
Examine Its Purpose Today
Persistence matters. Meaningful work takes time, and constantly changing direction exhausts people. Still, continuing requires another investment. Previous effort alone cannot tell us whether the next investment is worthwhile.
Choose one recurring activity and ask what it makes possible now. Which decision does it inform? Which risk does it manage? Who relies on it? Include the people doing the work; they may understand its usefulness better than the person receiving the output.
Give quiet contributions proper consideration. Maintenance, relationship building, and quality assurance often matter because they prevent problems. Then ask whether you would choose the same approach today. Perhaps the meeting could happen monthly or the report could serve fewer recipients. For discretionary work, a limited pause with dependencies checked and a review date agreed, can help test what is still needed.
When It Should Stay, But Not As It Is
Sometimes the answer is that the activity still matters, but it has lost its edge. Decisions have become status updates. Commitments slip without anyone naming them. Over time, small allowances leave the meeting feeling like a formality people attend out of habit rather than a place where their word carries weight.
Restoring it starts with returning to purpose. Perhaps the original goal has been forgotten and needs to be named again. Perhaps it has been achieved, and the group is ready for a larger one that asks more of them. A meeting with a clear purpose and commitments people expect to keep often regains its energy without much else changing.
Give It a Thoughtful Ending
Once you decide to stop something, complete the decision. Reflect as a group on what it accomplished, why its purpose has changed, and how remaining responsibilities will be handled. Cancel the meeting and release people from preparing the materials.
Be deliberate about the capacity recovered. It might support a neglected client relationship, a newer manager’s development, or existing priorities that need more attention. Immediately filling every cleared hour can leave people experiencing little meaningful change.
Begin with something you introduced yourself. Ask what it still makes possible, listen, and act on what you learn. You can respect a good decision without making it permanent. Sometimes leadership means recognizing that worthwhile work has reached a worthwhile ending.
