The way businesses conduct meetings has certainly changed in the past 18 months and in years gone by they had typically been little more than a work-based social function on company time.

While the thought of socialising with fellow staff has often been the driving force for employees to attend meetings there is an opportunity for improved leadership of meetings that can turn them from a cost into an asset.

To assess the quality of a meeting, look no further than the official minutes. If agenda items are loosely worded and action items are carried over from one meeting to the next, the most obvious element missing is likely to be leadership. So, how can you turn meetings from a cost into a company asset?