Most executives don’t mean to hijack meetings. They’re trying to inspire, clarify, or share that one story from 1998 they swear still applies. However, somewhere between, “You know…” and minute 17 of the monologue, the meeting quietly dies. Pontification isn’t leadership. It’s just expensive noise. I’ve been guilty of it myself. Organizations don’t suffer from a lack of ideas from the top. They suffer from a lack of space for ideas from everyone else.
When talking becomes a distraction, not direction
Executives have disproportionate gravitational pull. One comment can redirect an entire meeting’s orbit. One story can retroactively redefine priorities. One “quick thought” can consume 20 minutes and derail the agenda. The meeting becomes theater rather than collaboration. Ironically, it leaves teams less informed, less aligned, and less energized than before.
Everyone leaves thinking the same thing, “Could that have been an email?” Pontification doesn’t merely take up airtime. It takes up oxygen, quietly suffocating diverse perspectives. Here’s what really happens in those moments:
- People with dissenting views self-edit.
- The most thoughtful contributors withdraw.
- Risk-taking evaporates because the “answer” already appears to be spoken.
- Meetings morph into agreement ceremonies instead of decision engines.
Leaders often insist they value candor and dialogue. However, if their monologue fills 70% of the meeting, they’ve already signaled what’s safe to say and what isn’t. Once you’re pulled in, time ceases to exist. The meeting ends without any decisions being made, no clarity, and five follow-up meetings to fix the original meeting. Congratulations! You’ve just created a full-time job for your calendar.
Why leaders fall into the pontification trap
Pontification is rarely ego-driven alone. Leaders often slip into it because:
- They believe storytelling equals clarity (it doesn’t).
- There’s confusion between sharing experience and setting direction.
- They fear appearing disengaged if they aren’t speaking.
- There’s a lack of facilitation and only declaration.
- Their environment has rewarded commentary more than curiosity.
In many executive cultures, speaking more is subtly equated with influencing more. However, high-performing teams aren’t inspired by volume. They’re inspired by precision.
How to break the pontification cycle
The solution isn’t leader silence, but leader discipline. A leader who frames space instead of fills it signals trust, competence, and respect. They shape the conversation without dominating it. Instead of delivering soliloquies, they ask questions. They create a container for dialogue instead of consuming all available time. Great leaders don’t dominate meetings. They curate them. So instead, try this:
Andrea Olson
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