Three books that teach tech leaders how to run better meetings, make inclusive decisions, and turn facilitation into a competitive advantage.
Tech leaders often blame meeting culture for lost velocity, but the real lever is facilitation. By learning how to structure gatherings, you turn chaotic discussions into focused outcomes and give every voice a chance to shape decisions. The three books highlighted provide a practical toolbox that any engineering manager can start using immediately.
The Facilitator's Guide to Participatory Decision-Making shows how to move groups through divergent thinking, a "Groan Zone" of conflict, and convergent agreement, using tools like the scale of agreement that the author applied to an iOS architectural change. The Art of Gathering teaches you to define a clear purpose for every meeting, choose participants deliberately, and design rituals that keep people engaged, turning ordinary syncs into purposeful gatherings. The Secrets of Facilitation breaks down the "starting question" technique and Type B questions that spark creative thinking, giving you a ready-made script for kicking off productive sessions.
Applying these insights lets a CTO or engineering lead cut meeting waste, increase buy-in, and accelerate decision cycles. When teams feel heard and see a clear path from idea to action, alignment improves, friction drops, and the organization moves faster without sacrificing depth of discussion.
Check out the full stdlib collection for more frameworks, templates, and guides to accelerate your technical leadership journey.