A manager I coach had rebuilt a meeting he dreaded, with a 6-topic agenda he never got through. I asked what he got from it that he couldn’t get anywhere else. I recognized the problem fast, because I ran my own version of it for about 2 years.

He'd been with us 10 months when he came into my office during year-end and told me he couldn't get it done. I'd kept the hard work on my own desk the whole time, and told myself I was easing him in. I still think about where he ended up.