Are You Actually Showing Up to Your Meetings?

Two global CEOs just said what most of us already feel but rarely say out loud — and the lesson applies to every PME in Singapore.

Pan CK

Managing Partner, TalentEdge Asia · September 2026 · 6 min read

Source: LinkedIn interview with AT&T CEO John Stankey & JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, hosted by LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Daniel Roth (September 2026)

Two of the world's most powerful CEOs just agreed on something most of us already feel but rarely say out loud.

AT&T's John Stankey and JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon sat down with LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Daniel Roth to celebrate 125 years of their companies' partnership — and the conversation quickly turned to what makes meetings worth having. Watch the full interview here.

Stankey was direct: "I love discourse." But he was equally clear about what that means: "Don't walk in there and just be an observer. When you have a point of view, it shouldn't just be some uninformed opinion. It should be a point of view that's built on facts, information, and data."

Dimon added: "I am never upset when someone says I'm wrong about something. I just want to do the best I can for our clients, our country, our company."

Here's what struck me most as a performance coach.

Stankey openly admitted that his own height and voice make people hesitant to challenge him in meetings — calling it "probably one of the weaker areas" of his leadership. A global CEO. Publicly acknowledging that his physical presence creates a room where people hold back.

If that happens at the top of AT&T, imagine how often it happens in your organisation. In our coaching work, we call this artificial harmony — the room looks aligned, everyone nods, and nothing actually changes. The silence isn't agreement. It's avoidance.

The Numbers Don't Lie

71%

of meetings considered unproductive

21+

hours a week spent in meetings

76%

feel drained after meeting-heavy days

252%

increase in meeting time since 2020

77% of professionals have attended meetings that resulted in scheduling yet another meeting.

That's not a calendar problem. That's a culture problem.

Even CEOs Use AI to Prepare for Meetings Now

Stankey: "I'm starting to wonder if reading is the best way to go. As I've gotten more into the dialog dynamic with AI, I can consume, I think, faster now in a directed conversation."

Dimon: "I use Gemini or Google, and deep dive to get information very quickly. I try to do all my previews before I go to meetings."

The underlying principle hasn't changed. The tool is new. The standard isn't. Show up informed. Always.

Your 5-Point Pre-Meeting Checklist for PMEs

Be prepared for your next meeting, regardless of how trivial or irrelevant you think it could be. Here's how to show up and make an impact:

Get the agenda — before you walk in.

Check the meeting invite, or ask the host directly if it isn't stated. No agenda, no preparation. No preparation, no contribution. If both CEOs use AI to pre-read before meetings, so can you.

Know exactly what is expected of you.

If it's a monthly sales review, come with your numbers, pipeline status, and closing dates. As Stankey put it: your point of view should be "built on facts, information, and data" — not emotion.

Prepare your challenges with specifics.

Come with concrete examples of roadblocks relevant to the topic. Vague complaints don't move meetings forward. Specific, evidence-backed challenges do. Don't avoid the uncomfortable. Dimon calls it putting the "dead cat on the table."

Bring at least one idea or solution.

Don't just surface problems — come with a possible way forward. Leaders who contribute solutions get heard. Leaders who only raise problems get tuned out. If you're not ready to speak up or have no constructive point to make, Stankey's view is clear: perhaps you shouldn't be in the room.

Know your audience.

Think about who else is in the room. What do they care about? How do they prefer to receive information? Even Stankey acknowledges that his own presence unintentionally silences people — that's a DISC and EQ challenge, not just a personality quirk. Adapting your communication style to your audience is what separates a good point from a persuasive one.

The Real Skill Gap Isn't Technical

For PMEs navigating organisations today, the real gap is behavioural: the ability to speak up when the room is quiet, to disagree without damaging relationships, and to know when your silence is costing the team.

If a CEO running one of America's largest companies can admit his presence makes people hold back — and actively work to fix it — the least we can do is walk into our next meeting prepared to contribute.

Are you the person in the room who speaks up — or the one who shares what they really think after the meeting ends?

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