Capability template for leadership
Leadership meeting rhythm
Your chief executive gets a proposed calendar of leadership forums and written reports, built from today's meetings and the decisions left waiting: each forum with its purpose, inputs, attendees, frequency and one decision owner, and the hours it gives back. The chief executive chooses; no calendar is changed.
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The outcome
The week stops being a run of meetings that each end with "let's pick this up next time". Every recurring meeting the leadership sits in is looked at on its own figures: how often it meets, who is in the room, who owns its decisions, how many decisions it actually recorded, and whether anyone read anything before it started. Each one gets a single proposal. Keep it, sharpen it, fold it into a meeting that already covers the same ground, or let a short written report do its job.
What comes back is a rhythm the chief executive can see whole: a handful of forums, each with a purpose, the papers it needs, the people it needs, how often it meets and the one person who decides in it, plus the written reports that carry the updates so the time in the room goes on decisions. Every decision that has been waiting gets a home, and the ones the person closest to them can safely make on their own are handed back to them. The chief executive sees the hours they spend in recurring meetings today and under the proposal, against the ceiling they set.
Who starts the work, and when
The chief executive or owner starts it, often with a chief of staff or executive assistant gathering the inputs. Good moments: when the calendar is full and decisions still wait; after the company grows, adds a leadership role or restructures; when a new chief executive inherits someone else's calendar; and once a year as a check.
The chief executive chooses, meeting by meeting, what to keep, change, merge or retire, and answers the few questions the proposal raises. A person then changes the invitations.
What they supply
- The meeting list: each recurring internal meeting the leadership attends, with its purpose, day, frequency, length, attendees, chair, decision owner, how many decisions it recorded in the last 90 days and what papers go out before it. The template sets out default column headers; if a header differs, the assistant stops and asks.
- The decisions waiting: each decision raised and not yet made, with when and where it was raised, who can make it and whether it can be undone.
- The reports that already exist, such as a weekly dashboard or the monthly accounts.
- A few settings: today's date, the leadership team, who keeps the record, and the ceiling on the chief executive's meeting hours.
No calendar, mailbox or meeting tool is connected. Everything is pasted in by a person.
What comes out
- The hours, for the chief executive and for everyone, today and under the proposal, against the ceiling.
- Questions for the chief executive first, such as a forum with nobody named to decide.
- Each current meeting with its findings and one proposed choice.
- The proposed forums, each with purpose, what it decides, inputs, attendees, frequency and length, decision owner, and the waiting decisions it takes first.
- The proposed written reports, with owner, readers, contents and what each replaces.
- Every waiting decision with how long it has waited and where it goes.
- The calendar changes a person would make once the chief executive has chosen.
An invented example
Illustrative example with invented data. Pellacombe Facilities is an invented 120-person building maintenance and refurbishment contractor. Its people, meetings, decisions and figures are invented too. Joanna, the chief executive, says her week is full of meetings and the decisions still wait. On Tuesday 10 November 2026 her executive assistant, Hana, runs the capability with the meeting list, the decisions waiting, the reports that already exist and Joanna's settings. First come those inputs, in full, then the proposal that came back.
The inputs
1. Settings
Today: Tuesday 10 November 2026
Company: Pellacombe Facilities, 120 people
Chief executive: Joanna
Leadership team: Joanna (chief executive), Marcus (finance director),
Priya (operations director), Tomasz (head of sales), Elif (head of
people), Ben (head of service quality)
Record keeper: Hana (executive assistant)
Ceiling: 4 hours a week in recurring internal meetings
Not redesigned: the board meeting
Low-decision count, waiting limit, attendee limit, report day and time:
defaults
2. The meeting list
meeting,purpose,day,frequency,length_minutes,attendees,chair,decision_owner,decisions_last_90_days,papers_before
Monday leadership meeting,Updates from each area and anything urgent,Monday,weekly,120,Joanna; Marcus; Priya; Tomasz; Elif; Ben; Hana,Joanna,,2,none
Operations review,"Contract performance, staffing gaps and complaints",Thursday,weekly,60,Priya; Ben; Joanna; Area manager North; Area manager South; Area manager Central,Priya,Priya,9,"Service dashboard, sent Wednesday"
Sales pipeline call,Pipeline and renewals,Wednesday,weekly,45,Tomasz; Joanna; Marcus; Account manager A; Account manager B,Tomasz,Tomasz,0,"Pipeline export, shared on screen in the call"
Monthly finance review,Management accounts and cash,first Tuesday,monthly,90,Marcus; Joanna; Priya; Tomasz,Marcus,Joanna,3,"Management accounts, sent the day before"
People catch-up,"Training, policy changes and staffing levels",Tuesday,every two weeks,60,Elif; Joanna; Priya,Elif,,,none
Quarterly planning day,Set next quarter's priorities,varies,quarterly,360,Joanna; Marcus; Priya; Tomasz; Elif; Ben,Joanna,Joanna,5,"Each lead's one-page review, sent a week before"
Service quality huddle,Complaints and audit results,Friday,weekly,30,Ben; Priya; Joanna,Ben,Ben,1,none
Board meeting,Quarterly board meeting,varies,quarterly,180,Joanna; Marcus; Director A; Director B; Director C,Chair of the board,The board,,Board pack
3. The decisions waiting
id,decision,raised_on,raised_in,raised_by,can_decide,reversible,note
W1,Whether to bid for the council schools refurbishment tender,2026-09-21,Monday leadership meeting,Tomasz,Joanna,no,Tender closes 4 December 2026
W2,Move night-shift supervisors from paper timesheets to the mobile app,2026-10-08,Operations review,Priya,Priya,yes,
W3,Price increase for contracts renewing in January,2026-09-30,Sales pipeline call,Tomasz,Joanna,no,
W4,Replace the van leasing supplier when the current leases end in March,2026-10-06,Monthly finance review,Marcus,,,
W5,Adopt the new client complaints procedure,2026-10-16,Service quality huddle,Ben,Ben,yes,
W6,Supervisors' training budget for next year,2026-10-20,People catch-up,Elif,Joanna,yes,
4. The reports that already exist
report,frequency,owner,readers,sent
Service dashboard,weekly,Priya,Priya; Ben; area managers,Wednesday
Pipeline export,weekly,Tomasz,Tomasz; account managers,Wednesday
Management accounts,monthly,Marcus,Marcus; Joanna; Priya; Tomasz,the day before the monthly finance review
What came back
LEADERSHIP MEETING RHYTHM: proposal for Joanna, Pellacombe Facilities
Prepared Tuesday 10 November 2026 from: meeting list (8 meetings), decisions waiting (6), existing reports (3), settings.
Chief executive's hours in recurring meetings: today 301 a year (5.8 a week); proposed 119 a year (2.3 a week); change -182 a year (-3.5 a week).
Everyone's hours in recurring meetings: today 1,667 person-hours a year; proposed 887; change -780. Time spent writing reports is not counted.
Ceiling: 4 hours a week. Today: over by 1.8. Proposed: within it.
Questions for Joanna: 4
1. Operations review: Priya owns its decisions and you attend every week, 52 hours a year. You also attend the service quality huddle, which would join it, where Ben owns the decisions (26 hours a year). The proposal has you leave both and read Priya's and Ben's lines in the weekly leadership report, which takes 78 hours a year off your calendar. Do you leave, or stay?
2. People catch-up: no decision owner is named, and its decisions in the last 90 days were not counted. Who decides there? Elif, as chair, can supply the count.
3. W1, whether to bid for the council schools refurbishment tender: its note says "Tender closes 4 December 2026", and it goes on the first agenda of the leadership decision forum, which meets every two weeks. Does the forum's first sitting come before that date, or does the decision need to be taken sooner?
4. W4, replace the van leasing supplier: no one is named who can decide, and whether it can be undone is not known. It has waited 35 days. Who decides, and can it be undone?
Current meetings: 7
1. Monday leadership meeting (Monday, weekly, 120 minutes, 7 attendees). Decision owner: none named. Decisions in the last 90 days: 2. Papers before: none. Chief executive: 104 hours a year. Everyone: 728 person-hours a year.
Findings: no decision owner named; few decisions (2); no papers before.
Waiting decisions raised here: W1, 50 days.
Proposed: Change into the leadership decision forum (forum 1): every two weeks on Monday, 90 minutes, Joanna deciding; updates move into the weekly leadership report (report 1). Joanna chooses.
2. Operations review (Thursday, weekly, 60 minutes, 6 attendees). Decision owner: Priya. Decisions in the last 90 days: 9. Papers before: Service dashboard, sent Wednesday. Chief executive: 52 hours a year. Everyone: 312 person-hours a year.
Findings: overlaps the service quality huddle (Ben, Priya and Joanna attend both, and both cover complaints); the chief executive attends and Priya owns the decisions.
Waiting decisions raised here: W2, 33 days.
Proposed: Change: absorbs the service quality huddle as a standing item on complaints and audit results, owned by Ben, at the same 60 minutes; Joanna leaves and reads Priya's lines in the weekly leadership report (question 1). Joanna chooses.
3. Sales pipeline call (Wednesday, weekly, 45 minutes, 5 attendees). Decision owner: Tomasz. Decisions in the last 90 days: 0. Papers before: Pipeline export, shared on screen in the call. Chief executive: 39 hours a year. Everyone: 195 person-hours a year.
Findings: no decisions in 90 days; no papers before (first seen in the call); the chief executive attends and Tomasz owns the decisions.
Waiting decisions raised here: W3, 41 days.
Proposed: Replace with written report: the weekly pipeline note (report 2). Joanna chooses.
4. Monthly finance review (first Tuesday, monthly, 90 minutes, 4 attendees). Decision owner: Joanna. Decisions in the last 90 days: 3. Papers before: Management accounts, sent the day before. Chief executive: 18 hours a year. Everyone: 72 person-hours a year.
Findings: none.
Waiting decisions raised here: W4, 35 days.
Proposed: Keep. Joanna chooses.
5. People catch-up (Tuesday, every two weeks, 60 minutes, 3 attendees). Decision owner: none named. Decisions in the last 90 days: not known. Papers before: none. Chief executive: 26 hours a year. Everyone: 78 person-hours a year.
Findings: no decision owner named; decisions not known; no papers before.
Waiting decisions raised here: W6, 21 days.
Proposed: Change: a decision owner named (question 2); training, policy and staffing papers from Elif, sent two working days before. Joanna chooses.
6. Quarterly planning day (varies, quarterly, 360 minutes, 6 attendees). Decision owner: Joanna. Decisions in the last 90 days: 5. Papers before: Each lead's one-page review, sent a week before. Chief executive: 24 hours a year. Everyone: 144 person-hours a year.
Findings: none.
Waiting decisions raised here: none.
Proposed: Keep. Joanna chooses.
7. Service quality huddle (Friday, weekly, 30 minutes, 3 attendees). Decision owner: Ben. Decisions in the last 90 days: 1. Papers before: none. Chief executive: 26 hours a year. Everyone: 78 person-hours a year.
Findings: few decisions (1); overlaps the operations review (Ben, Priya and Joanna attend both, and both cover complaints); no papers before; the chief executive attends and Ben owns the decisions.
Waiting decisions raised here: W5, 25 days.
Proposed: Merge into the operations review: a standing item on complaints and audit results, owned by Ben. Joanna chooses.
Proposed forums: 5
1. Leadership decision forum
Purpose: the leadership team's decisions, taken by the chief executive; updates are read in the weekly leadership report instead.
Decides: the waiting decisions routed here and those raised in the weekly leadership report.
Inputs: the weekly leadership report; a one-page paper for each decision on the agenda, from the person who raised it, sent two working days before.
Attendees: Joanna; Marcus; Priya; Tomasz; Elif; Ben; Hana
Frequency and length: every two weeks, Monday, 90 minutes
Decision owner: Joanna
Replaces or changes: changes the Monday leadership meeting (meeting 1).
Chief executive: 39 hours a year. Everyone: 273 person-hours a year.
First decisions: W1, W3
2. Operations review
Purpose: contract performance, staffing gaps, complaints and audit results.
Decides: operations decisions, Priya; complaints and audit actions, Ben.
Inputs: Service dashboard, from Priya, sent Wednesday.
Attendees: Priya; Ben; Area manager North; Area manager South; Area manager Central
Frequency and length: weekly, Thursday, 60 minutes
Decision owner: Priya; Ben for the complaints and audit item
Replaces or changes: changes meeting 2; absorbs the service quality huddle (meeting 7); Joanna leaves (question 1).
Chief executive: 0 hours a year. Everyone: 260 person-hours a year.
First decisions: none waiting
3. Monthly finance review
Purpose: management accounts and cash.
Decides: decisions on the management accounts and cash, Joanna.
Inputs: Management accounts, from Marcus, sent the day before.
Attendees: Marcus; Joanna; Priya; Tomasz
Frequency and length: monthly, first Tuesday, 90 minutes
Decision owner: Joanna
Replaces or changes: unchanged (meeting 4).
Chief executive: 18 hours a year. Everyone: 72 person-hours a year.
First decisions: none waiting
4. People catch-up
Purpose: training, policy changes and staffing levels.
Decides: training, policy and staffing-level decisions.
Inputs: training, policy and staffing papers, from Elif, sent two working days before.
Attendees: Elif; Joanna; Priya
Frequency and length: every two weeks, Tuesday, 60 minutes
Decision owner: not named: see question 2
Replaces or changes: changes meeting 5: a decision owner and papers before.
Chief executive: 26 hours a year. Everyone: 78 person-hours a year.
First decisions: none waiting
5. Quarterly planning day
Purpose: set next quarter's priorities.
Decides: next quarter's priorities, Joanna.
Inputs: each lead's one-page review, sent a week before.
Attendees: Joanna; Marcus; Priya; Tomasz; Elif; Ben
Frequency and length: quarterly, day varies, 360 minutes
Decision owner: Joanna
Replaces or changes: unchanged (meeting 6).
Chief executive: 24 hours a year. Everyone: 144 person-hours a year.
First decisions: none waiting
Proposed written reports: 2
1. Weekly leadership report. When: weekly, Friday, 12:00. Owner: Hana, with each leader writing their own lines. Readers: Joanna; Marcus; Priya; Tomasz; Elif; Ben. Contents: up to five lines per leader: numbers against plan (Priya from the service dashboard, Tomasz from the pipeline export, Marcus monthly from the management accounts), what changed, decisions needed and who decides each, decisions taken without a meeting. Replaces: the updates in the Monday leadership meeting; Joanna's attendance at the operations review and the service quality huddle.
2. Weekly pipeline note. When: weekly, Wednesday, 12:00. Owner: Tomasz. Readers: Joanna; Marcus; Account manager A; Account manager B. Contents: the pipeline export, plus the deals and renewals that need a decision and who decides each. Replaces: the sales pipeline call (meeting 3).
Waiting decisions: 6
W1. Whether to bid for the council schools refurbishment tender. Raised 2026-09-21 in the Monday leadership meeting by Tomasz; waiting 50 days, OVERDUE. Can decide: Joanna. Reversible: no. Note: Tender closes 4 December 2026. Route: leadership decision forum, first agenda; date in note: see question 3.
W2. Move night-shift supervisors from paper timesheets to the mobile app. Raised 2026-10-08 in the operations review by Priya; waiting 33 days, OVERDUE. Can decide: Priya. Reversible: yes. Route: Priya decides without a meeting and records it in the weekly leadership report.
W3. Price increase for contracts renewing in January. Raised 2026-09-30 in the sales pipeline call by Tomasz; waiting 41 days, OVERDUE. Can decide: Joanna. Reversible: no. Route: leadership decision forum, first agenda.
W4. Replace the van leasing supplier when the current leases end in March. Raised 2026-10-06 in the monthly finance review by Marcus; waiting 35 days, OVERDUE. Can decide: not stated. Reversible: not known. Route: NO DECIDER: see question 4.
W5. Adopt the new client complaints procedure. Raised 2026-10-16 in the service quality huddle by Ben; waiting 25 days. Can decide: Ben. Reversible: yes. Route: Ben decides without a meeting and records it in the weekly leadership report.
W6. Supervisors' training budget for next year. Raised 2026-10-20 in the people catch-up by Elif; waiting 21 days. Can decide: Joanna. Reversible: yes. Route: Joanna decides without a meeting and records it in the weekly leadership report.
Not redesigned: Board meeting: chief executive 12 hours a year, everyone 60 person-hours a year, counted in both totals.
Calendar changes, for Hana to make once Joanna chooses: 7
- Monday leadership meeting: becomes the leadership decision forum, every two weeks on Monday, 90 minutes. Waits on: the choice for meeting 1.
- Weekly leadership report: starts, Fridays by 12:00. Waits on: the choice for meeting 1.
- Operations review: adds the complaints and audit results item, still 60 minutes. Waits on: the choice for meeting 7.
- Operations review: Joanna comes off the invitation. Waits on: question 1.
- Sales pipeline call: the series ends and the weekly pipeline note starts, Wednesdays by 12:00. Waits on: the choice for meeting 3.
- People catch-up: the decision owner is named in the invitation, with papers two working days before. Waits on: question 2 and the choice for meeting 5.
- Service quality huddle: the series ends. Waits on: the choice for meeting 7.
Draft for Joanna. No calendar, invitation or record has been changed and no one has been contacted.
Every figure traces to the inputs above: each hours figure is the meeting's length times its sittings a year (52 weekly, 26 every two weeks, 12 monthly, 4 quarterly), times its attendees for everyone's hours, and each waiting period runs from the date raised to Tuesday 10 November 2026. Joanna chooses each forum; Hana changes the calendar only after she has.
Where it fits
- Leadership: the chief executive and leadership team whose own calendar is the problem.
- Executive and office support: the chief of staff or executive assistant who keeps the calendar and makes the changes once the choices are made.
- Professional services: partners and directors whose meetings multiply as the firm grows, while client work fills the rest of the week.
- Construction: leaders who split their week between sites and the office and cannot afford a meeting that settles nothing.
- Manufacturing: operations, sales and finance reviews that grow up separately and start covering the same ground.
- Software technology: fast-growing leadership teams that add a meeting for every new problem.
- Growth & scaling: when the calendar was set for a smaller company and nobody has reset it since.
- Established businesses: a calendar that has built up over years and nobody has looked at whole.
What has to change for your company
Set the chief executive's ceiling on recurring meeting hours, and decide what counts as a recorded decision: a line in the meeting notes, an entry in your decision log, or both. Name the leadership team and the person who keeps the record and makes calendar changes. Adjust the defaults if they do not suit you: how few decisions make a meeting worth rethinking, how long a decision may wait before it is marked overdue, how many people a deciding forum may hold, and when the weekly leadership report goes out. Say which meetings are never redesigned, such as the board meeting. Keep the default column headers or tell the assistant yours. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini from the lists you paste in.
What has been checked
Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026; the record of the latest run is published with it, and the acceptance tests have not been run. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.
Testing in your environment means running it on your current meeting list with a chief executive who knows the calendar well, plus hard cases written in advance: a column with a different name, a meeting whose decisions were never counted, two meetings covering the same ground, a waiting decision nobody owns. The chief executive checks every hours figure and every proposal before anything changes. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.
The full capability template
Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.
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