Taking and distributing meeting minutes is a superpower that no one wants. First, something you thought of as nonsense may actually click when you author the s

Taking and distributing meeting minutes is a superpower that no one wants. First, something you thought of as nonsense may actually click when you author the summary. Second, by sending out minutes, you have an opportunity to followup for clarifications and then can frame the knowledge and deliverables. Third, people often repeat themselves and call meetings when they feel they are not being heard -- accurate minutes help people grok they are being listened to. Fourth, you can cc your boss on it, so their inbox fills with meeting minutes, and then you can tell them it's hard to work with so many meeting interruptions (tell your manager that each 1h meeting is 2-3h because you have to take notes and assimilate them, otherwise, why are they sending you to a meeting?). Fifth, some participants may change their mind or be more informed themselves when reading meeting minutes, improving team effectiveness. Sixth, you have a record of soap boxing, so you can visibly take a "break" from taking notes when someone starts to wax, sort though a hard copy of the minutes, and then ask: "Pardon my interruption, but you brought this up on X, Y, and Z... has anything changed?". Seventh, the notes provide great skimming for team members (and future self), especially when things go south.. or you ask to be moved to another team. Finally, being known as a helpful person with thoughtful notes creates informal power for yourself because as you become the expert by assimilating peoples's knowledge. This credibility and proof of work creates opportunity.