Are Your Meetings Missing the Magic?

Hey friends. How's it going? It's Denzil.

Quick confession: I’m not great at slowing down.

I like action. I like lists. I like getting things done. And if I’m being really honest, sometimes I feel like the only way to progress is to always be in motion. 🙃

But here’s the thing: the most important shifts I’ve made in my work haven’t come from rushing around. They’ve come from the rare moments when I actually pause. We talked in a recent newsletter about taking a pause yourself, but I also love the idea of pausing WITH other people.

Last week, I was lucky to meet up in person with the people I work most closely with at Jane. And yeah, we did all the usual stuff like brainstorms, conversations, and coffee (Also way too many snacks). But what really stood out wasn’t the agenda. It was the intentionality. We didn’t just hang out. We hung out with purpose. Which sounds kind of funny, but it’s true. (Shoutout to Nat, Leanne, and everyone who put the event together!!)

And I realized…that’s something clinics can borrow too.

Running a clinic is noisy. Patients are coming and going, phones are ringing, and schedules are shifting all at once…. You know the feeling. 😅 But when you step away from all that, even for a couple of hours, something shifts. Those scattered thoughts start connecting. People’s voices get heard. And suddenly it’s not just “time together.” It’s time that has a direction.

And here’s the key: it doesn’t have to be a retreat or anything big. Most of you don’t have ten-person teams. For a lot of you, your “team” is one to three people, and that’s enough. Intentional time could just be coffee with your receptionist or lunch with a colleague across town. Or even a five-minute chat before locking up for the night. The size doesn’t matter. The pause does.

So what can you do to create some of this intentional time? I have some ideas, so hear me out...

1. Share a little “aha” moment

I personally love learning about new tools. It always catches my attention when someone pulls out their laptop and says "let me show you something." 👀

And in a clinic setting, what I'm thinking is that it could be useful to set aside some time for a team member to show off a new tool they learned... or maybe just an improved workflow that makes the things you're doing easier.

We’ve been leaning on presentations at Jane, but in clinic life, that doesn’t have to mean slide decks. It could just be a practitioner sharing a new exercise plan template they’ve built, so the next patient handout only takes two minutes instead of ten. Or your front desk showing off the colour-coded calendar they built. Or even just swapping how you explain online booking to patients who aren’t super tech-savvy. The point isn’t polish, it’s giving someone a chance to say, “Here’s what I figured out,” and letting the rest of you learn from it.

2. Tackle a real problem, together

At our meeting, we worked on one big challenge: how to describe Jane in a way that really clicks for clinics. And we came out with a bunch of ideas we could actually use. For you, maybe the question is: “How do we cut down wait times at the front desk?” Or “How do I stop double-booking myself?” Talking it out with even one other person can shift the problem from “mine” to “ours.” And that’s when new ideas show up.

3. Share a meal

I love to eat, and especially with friends. Sometimes connection isn’t about structure at all… it’s just sitting down together over food or coffee. Those are the moments where conversations wander into things like music, or weekend plans, or, in my case, cats. My profiles say “Intro me to your cat,” and people actually do lol. I can’t have cats, my son’s allergic, so those photos really do make my day.

It’s in those little real-life human moments that trust gets built. And that trust carries back into the work.

A little glimpse into our team meeting in person and truly connecting 🫶

Intentional time doesn’t have to be big or fancy. Even a one-on-one, where you pause, ask a question, and actually listen, can change how you feel about your work.

So here’s my nudge: find one little pocket of time this week to pause with someone. It doesn’t have to be long… it just has to be yours.

Anyway, that’s it from me. I’d love to hear what your version of connection looks like. Hit reply and tell me: who’s one person you could sit down with this week, and what’s the one question you’d want to ask them? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. ♥️

Chat again soon,

Denzil, Editor-in-Chief of Front Desk

📧 Stay connected

Every other Friday, Denzil sends a letter built from real conversations with practitioners, clinic owners, and other leaders shaping care. If you’d like to read along, you can get the newsletter delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing here.