In this episode of Workday Playdate, Erin sits down with workplace researcher, organizational psychologist, and meeting culture expert Rebecca Hinds to tackle one of the biggest drains on modern work: bad meetings. If you've ever stared at a packed calendar or wished collaboration felt more energizing, this conversation is packed with practical ideas to help you reclaim your time and redesign how your team connects.

Inside This Episode: 

• Meeting Doomsday Is Coming: Rebecca introduces the concept of "meeting doomsday" and explains how a simple 48-hour calendar cleanse can help organizations break free from unnecessary meetings and reset workplace norms.
• Why We're Meeting More Than Ever: Learn how meeting hours have exploded over the past several decades, why calendars became the default communication tool, and the hidden costs of constant collaboration.
• The 4D CEO Test: Before scheduling your next meeting, Rebecca shares her simple framework to determine whether the goal is to Decide, Debate, Discuss, or Develop—and whether a meeting is actually necessary.
• The Visibility Trap: Discover how visibility bias keeps unnecessary meetings alive and why being busy isn't always the same as being productive.
• Design Meetings People Actually Want to Attend: From intentional titles to clear outcomes, Rebecca shares practical ways to create meetings that foster connection, collaboration, and momentum.

What to Do Now:

1. Audit Your Calendar: Review your recurring meetings and ask: "Does this truly need to happen, or could it be handled another way?"
2. Use the 4D Test: Before scheduling a meeting, identify whether the goal is to Decide, Debate, Discuss, or Develop.
3. Title Meetings with Intention: Replace vague meeting names with clear, outcome-driven titles that tell attendees exactly why they're there.

Your Freebie

How do you lead through failure and uncertainty?

Today’s workplace demands adaptability, creative problem-solving, and leaders who can navigate uncertainty without freezing in perfectionism.

This quick quiz will reveal your unique approach to failure and uncertainty, plus give you simple ways to strengthen your adaptability muscles and help your team thrive when things don’t go according to plan.

About the Guest

Rebecca Hinds is an organizational psychologist, workplace researcher, and leadership strategist who helps organizations create healthier, more effective ways of working. She serves as the Head of Asana's Work Innovation Lab, where she studies collaboration, productivity, workplace culture, and the future of work. Rebecca's research has been featured in major publications and helps leaders rethink how teams communicate, meet, and thrive. Her work focuses on helping organizations reduce friction, improve collaboration, and build work environments where both performance and wellbeing can flourish.

Connect with Rebecca Hinds 

• Rebecca’s LinkedIn
• Rebecca’s website
• Rebecca’s book: Your Best Meeting Ever

Connect with Erin Diehl x improve it!

• Leadership Playground online membership community
• Erin’s website
• Erin’s Instagram
• Erin’s TikTok
• Erin’s LinkedIn
• improve it!’s website
• improve it!’s Instagram

For more information on improve it! visit www.learntoimproveit.com.