The Science of Better Meetings

In a world where hybrid work has gone from optional to essential, organizations face a new challenge: How do you ensure high-performing teams when part of the team is in the office and part is remote? It’s not enough to simply schedule another Zoom call. You need to design in-person meetings that build connection, cooperation and innovation — and that starts with a venue and program built for purpose.

At MIT Endicott House, we believe that great meetings are not just logistical checkboxes — they are strategic opportunities to solidify culture, align hybrid teams, and spark innovation.

Why Cooperation Is the New Leadership Superpower

Recent work from the MIT Sloan-affiliated MIT Sloan Management Review underscores an important shift in what makes leaders effective. In her column, Lynda Gratton writes:

“Great working lives are built through the skills we master and how we work with others.” MIT Sloan Management Review
Her research highlights that “mastery” (your technical or domain competence) is no longer enough without “cooperation” (your ability to connect, network and collaborate) — especially in complex organisational settings. MIT Sloan Management Review
In other words: If you want your hybrid team to be more than the sum of its parts, you have to make cooperation intentional.

The Hybrid Team Dilemma — And What Research Tells Us

Hybrid teams bring great flexibility, but they also bring risk: weakened networks, fragmented communication, and diminished innovation.

For example:

• A recent study found over 60 % of hybrid workers say their team lacks a clear charter or plan for hybrid collaboration — and teams without a plan showed lower levels of engagement. Gallup.com

• A broad systematic review of hybrid collaboration found that many hybrid meetings struggle with engagement and interaction when attendees are split between physical and virtual spaces. arXiv

• Another article in the Harvard Business Review observed that team-building activities designed for hybrid participants improve cohesion and trust in ways that standard remote meetings do not. Harvard Business Review

In short: Without purposeful intervention and occasional in-person meetings hybrid teams risk becoming less connected, less creative — and less effective.

How To Design Meetings That Bridge the Hybrid Gap

Here’s where you bring the research to the meeting planning table. Based on scholarly insight + practical experience, here are four design imperatives:

1. Begin with the “why” of cooperation.
When you gather a hybrid team, don’t start with logistics. Start with the question: “How will this meeting strengthen our ability to work together across locations and time zones?” That echoes the notion from Sloan: cooperation requires intentional action. MIT Sloan Management Review
At Endicott House, that means programming breakout sessions that force cross-location teaming, not just remote vs in-room parallel tracks.

2. Use physical presence strategically.
The research is clear: when creativity, innovation or trust-building are the goals, in-person elements work significantly better than pure virtual. MIT Sloan Management Review+1
At Endicott House, you can use the built-in environment — conference rooms, outdoor breakout areas, networking meals — to create the live connection that hybrid teams often miss. The remote participants still engage via excellent A/V and parallel design so everyone feels included.

3. Create a hybrid “charter” for the team at the start.
Just like any project, hybrid meetings need a clear charter: roles, norms, decision-process, how remote and in-room attendees will participate. Research shows that teams with this kind of collaboration plan are 2.2 times more likely to rate their hybrid setup as extremely positive. Gallup.com
When working with Endicott House, meeting planners can include a kickoff session where the team codifies how they’ll interact — how remote and in-person will merge, how decisions will be made, how follow-up will be handled.

4. Build time for informal connection and innovation.
Don’t let the schedule be wall-to-wall “content delivery.” Research on cooperation emphasizes that breaking down silos, sharing across networks, and weak-tie connections spark fresh ideas. MIT Sloan Management Review+1
At Endicott House, consider scheduling a nature-walk breakout, a mixed remote/in-room experiential activity, or a fireside chat that mixes remote and in-person participants equally — so connection happens unconsciously.

Why MIT Endicott House Is Your Strategic Advantage

Because your venue is not just a backdrop — it’s a co-creator of meeting outcomes. Here’s how Endicott House aligns with the research support for hybrid-team success:

• Situated just outside Cambridge, in a serene campus environment, it gives in-person attendees the calm and focus needed for high-value collaboration — away from day-to-day office distractions.

• Inspired by a culture of innovation (connected to MIT) the space is designed for idea generation, not just presentations.

• The technical infrastructure and layout permit seamless hybrid integration — equal voice for remote participants and in-room attendees.

• Meeting planners can leverage our team to design programming that aligns with the “cooperation + mastery” model from MIT-Sloan.

• The setting invites informal moments of connection, which the research shows are vital for trust, network building, and innovation.

Your Next Step: Assess the Strength of Your Meeting Design

We’ve created a quick Meeting-Planner Quiz to help you evaluate how ready your upcoming team meeting is for hybrid success:

• Does your meeting plan begin with a cooperation-intent statement?

• Will your hybrid charter be defined?

• Are remote and in-person attendees participating together, not just parallel?

• Is there built-in time for informal, cross-location connection?

• Has your venue been selected with collaboration — not just capacity — in mind?

If you answered “no” to one or more of those, your meeting may not achieve the full potential of hybrid collaboration.

Final Thought

The hybrid-work revolution is real. But the companies and teams that will win are those who move beyond simply “remote + office” and upgrade their meeting design to leverage cooperation, network formation and shared innovation.
The research from MIT Sloan and beyond is clear: mastery alone isn’t enough. Your environment, your process and your intentional design of together-time make the difference.

At MIT Endicott House, we don’t just host meetings — we help you design collaboration that matters. Because when your hybrid team truly connects, the innovation, culture and performance follow.