Participants in organizations around the world have long suspected it, but now there is some evidence to back it up:

Meetings may make you “brain dead.”

“You may joke about how committee meetings make you feel brain-dead, but our findings suggest that they may make you act brain-dead as well,” Read Montague, the study leader, wrote in the Carilion, a Virginia Tech Research Institute publication.

Somewhere, Patrick Lencioni is smiling.

Lencioni, a noted author, speaker, and consultant on leadership and organizational principles, wrote a book in 2004 entitled “Death by Meeting.”

Even though It’s been around awhile, it’s worth taking a look at – and one of the best ways to do that is by taking a quiz.

Here’s the quiz; go ahead and take it – I’ll wait. 

Back already? You must have a meeting to go to! Or else you figured out that his suggested answers are on the next page of the quiz.

Lencioni believes that there are four basic types of meetings:

• Daily Check-in, lasting 5-10 minutes
• Weekly Tactical, lasting 45-90 minutes
• Monthly Strategic, lasting 2-4 hours
• Quarterly Off-Site Review, lasting 1-2 days

Check here for a complete description. Looking for quick tips for effective meetings? Check out these 5 great ideas.

Remember – as a leader, the meetings you run are a direct reflection on your leadership skills, preparation, and effectiveness.

And you don’t want any brain-dead team members around the table.