At work, how much time do you spend in meetings with at least two other people? If you’re like many of us, you’ve got planning meetings, staff meetings, project meetings, budget meetings… the list seems nearly endless. No wonder one office joker described meetings as “the practical alternative to work.”

Organizations love such groups—call them teams, committees, task forces, boards, panels, whatever. And why shouldn’t they? When they work, they can improve coordination, help employees feel more involved, and maybe even spur innovation.

But when they flop—or, more commonly, just deteriorate into mediocrity—they can drain an organization of its vitality and leave a legacy of frustration. Posturing, power struggles, and misunderstandings are so rife that you’ve probably wondered more than once if more would get done if your group never met again.