Too Many Daily Stand-ups? Here's How to Fix Meeting Overload Artwork

Good intentions, bad outcomes

A podcast about challenges and practices you might encounter in the workplace... things that were intended well, but have outcomes that aren't so great. In most cases, the organizations aren't even aware of how bad the outcomes are.

Every episode we discuss a situation that has something wrong with it: the what, the why and what can be done to address it.

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Good intentions, bad outcomes

Too Many Daily Stand-ups? Here's How to Fix Meeting Overload

July 08, 2025 • Xodiac • Season 1 • Episode 11

In this episode of Good Intentions and Bad Outcomes, Gino and Wayne explore how the well-meaning practice of daily stand-ups can become overwhelming when individuals are expected to attend multiple stand-ups across different teams.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
0:33 Today's problem: attending too many daily stand-ups
1:06 When expert contributors spread themselves too thin
1:23 The good intentions behind wanting to stay involved
2:15 Why too many meetings can drain productivity
2:39 A different lens on a recurring issue
2:58 Balancing collaboration with individual capacity
3:28 Refocusing on the intention: communication
4:14 Solution 1: Back-to-back scheduling to preserve deep work
4:49 Solution 2: Supplier-team model for shared work
5:31 Solution 3: Scrum of scrums or cross-team sync
6:05 Solution 4: Joint planning and reviews for cross-team clarity
6:44 Solution 5: Rotating representatives between teams
7:10 Solution 6: Weekly cross-team progress alignments
8:13 Making information sharing efficient and intentional
8:52 Closing thoughts on time-conscious communication
9:28 Don't follow the playbook—do what makes sense
9:45 Wrap-up and invitation for listener stories

Gino and Wayne tackle a challenge common in many agile environments: when people contribute to multiple teams and end up drowning in stand-up meetings. What starts as a simple communication tool turns into a calendar nightmare where no time is left for actual work.

In this episode, they explore alternatives that preserve the value of daily coordination while respecting people’s time, such as:
Organizing back-to-back meetings to protect blocks of focus time
Shifting to a supplier relationship for shared work
Implementing scrum-of-scrums or other cross-team alignment practices
Holding joint sprint planning and reviews to reduce duplicate discussions
Rotating team representatives to maintain connection without overload
Setting up weekly cross-team check-ins to keep things aligned

If your calendar ever made you think "When am I supposed to actually do the work?" you’ll relate to this one.

Got your own workplace story where a good idea had unintended consequences? Drop us a line and it might be featured in a future episode!