--- title: "The Case for a Meeting Critic" id: "56360" type: "post" slug: "the-case-for-a-meeting-critic" published_at: "2025-02-21T17:46:31+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T15:16:47+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2025/02/21/the-case-for-a-meeting-critic/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2025/02/21/the-case-for-a-meeting-critic.md" excerpt: "Business scholars suggest a “critical reviewer” role to challenge assumptions, improve meeting productivity, and strengthen organizational culture." taxonomy_category: - "Governance" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "critical review" - "Governance" - "meeting effectiveness" - "Meetings" - "Workplace" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » The Case for a Meeting Critic Every organization, for better or for worse, has a culture. Boards define themselves by how they interpret the organization’s mission; staffs are defined by how, and how well, they interpret the decisions that emerge from those interpretations. And at every step, they run the risk that the culture will get a little stale—places where people say things like, “This is how you’re supposed to do it.” Or that long-lamented phrase in associations: “That’s how we’ve always done it.” Would it help to have somebody around whose actual job it is to push back against that kind of talk? At the *Sloan MIT Management Review*, a group of leadership scholars discuss the positive impact of a “[critical reviewer (opens in a new tab)](https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-meetings-need-a-constructive-devils-advocate/) ,” an in-house devil’s advocate who is there to question the organization’s assumptions and internal behaviors. As they put it: “The critical reviewer is an individual tasked with challenging prevailing assumptions and ensuring that ideas are evaluated thoroughly. Rather than accepting what’s presented at face value, the critical reviewer encourages the team to consider alternatives, think through risks, and ask whether all relevant factors have been considered.” *A pest*, I thought, immediately upon reading that. That’s not fair, I know; the scholars point to research that shows that critical reviewers have substantial positive impacts on meeting effectiveness, productivity, and participation. But I came away from the piece thinking that there should be some clear lines drawn around the “critical reviewer” role, and some important guidelines, to keep the reviewer from being pest-like. First, especially in board environments, *everyone*ought to be a critical reviewer. Everyone in the room should feel empowered—indeed, is empowered—to question the research behind decisions they intend to make, to prompt them to consider alternatives, and to challenge the assumptions they’re working under. Having a critical reviewer assigned to a meeting isn’t an invitation for everybody else to abandon their strategic-thinking skills. > Everyone in the room should feel empowered to question research, consider alternatives, and challenge assumptions. That said, I can see a couple of net positives for the critical reviewer role. First, while it’s good to assume that groups will think strategically, a critical reviewer ensures that the kinds of probing and questioning behind that assumption will be vocal and overt. Rather than being in the way and derailing conversations—being a pest—the role helps to ensure that everyone in the room is keeping a strategic conversation at a higher level. Second, and perhaps more importantly on boards, “critical reviewer” is valuable as a rotating role that gives newer board members who aren’t on the executive committee an opportunity to demonstrate leadership. The *Sloan*article’s authors point to some benefits of rotating the job, which “ensures that no single person has to continuously question others, which could otherwise lead to tension or fatigue. Instead, the responsibility is distributed, helping everyone develop sharper critical thinking skills…. By giving each team member the opportunity to serve as the critical reviewer, participation naturally increased.” Board chairs, of course, will have to manage that role along with all the rest—critical reviewing isn’t an excuse to get deep in the weeds, turn discussions toward pet projects, or passive-aggressively snipe at specific projects (or board members). But done well, it can be an effective way of keeping everyone in the room focused and strategic. [istock/NanoStockk] [Mark Athitakis](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Mark Athitakis, a contributing editor for Associations Now, has written on nonprofits, the arts, and leadership for a variety of publications. He is a coauthor of The Dumbest Moments in Business History and hopes you never qualify for the sequel. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#critical review](https://associationsnow.com/tag/critical-review/) [#Governance](https://associationsnow.com/tag/governance/) [#meeting effectiveness](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meeting-effectiveness/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) [#Workplace](https://associationsnow.com/tag/workplace/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [TemplateMembers onlySample Board Self Assessment SurveyAugust 28, 2008](https://associationsnow.com/2008/08/28/sample-board-self-assessment-survey/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: Leading Together-Strengthening the Board-CSO PartnershipDecember 18, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/18/associations-now-presents-leading-together-strengthening-the-board-cso-partnership/) - [TemplateMembers onlyACC/ACCF Board of Trustees Meeting Evaluation FormFebruary 25, 2006](https://associationsnow.com/2006/02/25/acc-accf-board-of-trustees-meeting-evaluation-form/) - [TemplateMembers onlyAWI Board of Directors Meeting EvaluationFebruary 25, 2006](https://associationsnow.com/2006/02/25/awi-board-of-directors-meeting-evaluation/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2025%2F02%2F21%2Fthe-case-for-a-meeting-critic%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !