The weekly meeting is still on everyone’s calendar, but the decision it once served now happens in a project review. Participants repeat updates, wait for a reason to speak and leave with no new action. The meeting may have outlived its original purpose even if it was valuable when created.
Start by asking what must happen synchronously in this particular room. Is there a decision, a disagreement that needs discussion, a dependency to resolve or a relationship purpose that people value? “We have always met on Tuesdays” describes a history, not the current job of the meeting.
Trace one recent agenda item
Choose a representative item and follow it from request to decision. Identify where the necessary information was assembled, who made the decision and where the outcome was recorded. If the recurring meeting only repeats an outcome already settled elsewhere, decide whether that repetition still serves anyone.
Do not cancel a meeting by simply removing the calendar invitation without explanation. State which function is ending, where updates or decisions will now appear and how someone can raise an exception. Otherwise the apparent saving may become a stream of private messages to reconstruct the missing process.
A short trial can make the change easier to evaluate. For example, pause an update-only meeting for a defined period while keeping a named route for issues that need discussion. Record what would justify reinstating or redesigning it: missed decisions, unresolved dependencies or a loss of useful coordination.
Invite feedback from people who spoke least as well as those who dominated the old meeting. A routine that felt redundant to one role may have been the only place another role received essential context. Preserve that useful function deliberately.
At the review date, compare what happened with the meeting’s stated purpose. The answer might be cancellation, a shorter decision session or a less frequent conversation. The aim is a calendar that reflects current work, with enough explanation that nobody has to guess where the work went.