241. What if meetings were the best part of your day? (Yes, really!). With Mamie Kanfer Stewart

Oct 16, 2025

Mamie Kanfer Stewart, a meeting transformation expert and host of The Modern Manager podcast, shares invaluable insights on making meetings enjoyable and effective. She explains why most meetings fail and offers frameworks for giving feedback, even upwards. Mamie reveals her 'zero to five' strategy for quick consensus and how to handle dominant voices in discussions. Plus, she emphasizes the importance of emotional management in meetings and when it’s better to send an email instead. Get ready to rethink your approach to meetings!

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ANECDOTE

Raised In Radical Meeting Culture

Mamie described growing up where junior staff openly argued with her CEO father and it was normal culture.
She contrasted that with her horror at corporate meetings that lacked goals and preparation.

ADVICE

Prepare By Naming Your Fears

Start by naming why the meeting feels difficult and test those assumptions against facts.
Prepare emotionally for discomfort and accept possible trade-offs before the meeting.

ADVICE

Decide The Outcome Before Feedback

Clarify the specific outcome you want from a feedback conversation before you start.
Choose exploration or a behavior-change plan depending on that outcome.

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Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture — brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.
Hosted by Chartered Occupational Psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott, this episode is a masterclass on one of the most dreaded parts of working life: meetings.

Our guest is Mamie Kanfer Stewart — host of The Modern Manager podcast, author of Momentum, and founder of Meeteor — who has dedicated her career to transforming meetings from time-wasting nightmares into spaces for decision-making, creativity, and genuine collaboration.

🔥 What We Cover

📌 Why most meetings fail
Mamie shares how growing up in a culture that encouraged open, challenging conversations gave her a unique perspective — and why most organisations get the fundamentals of meetings wrong.

📌 Feedback conversations that don’t implode
Learn Mamie’s frameworks for difficult one-to-one meetings, including how to give feedback to someone more senior without tanking your reputation.

📌 Group decision-making without the chaos
From dominant voices to silent stakeholders, Mamie explains how to prepare for and run complex meetings that lead to real decisions instead of endless back-and-forth.

📌 The “zero to five” strategy
Mamie reveals a simple but powerful technique that turned a potentially hour-long battle into a 15-minute consensus — and how you can use it too.

📌 When meetings should be emails — and when they really shouldn’t
We tackle the internet’s favourite complaint. Mamie explains the real issue behind “this could’ve been an email” and why the answer isn’t fewer meetings, but better ones.

🎧 Want more from Mamie Kanfer Stewart?
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamiekanferstewart/
– Meeteor: https://www.meeteor.com/
– The Modern Manager: https://www.themodernmanager.com/
– Mamie KS: https://www.mamieks.com/

🧠 Support with Mental Health and Well-being
– Mind UK: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/
– Samaritans (UK): Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat