In this busy, over productive work-world that we now operate, it’s easy to see why basic human connection can often be overlooked in the workplace. A quick surface level, ‘hello, how are you doing? good weekend?’ as one carries on walking to the next job of the day… not really present or still enough to even hear the answer.
In team meetings, I hear and see a similar phenomenon. No one really has time or energy to get into the personal human connection, they’re too focussed on task and getting through the agenda.
The challenge of course with this surface-surfing is that workplace interactions and team meetings also become surface and as a result very transactional and task focussed.
Research shows that people do their best work, when they’re seen, heard and valued. That cannot be attained by transactional human surfing conversations. It requires a deeper more thoughtful approach.
We introduce the concept of ‘check in’ on all our programmes and it’s by far the practice that leaders tell us they implement straight away into their teams and that made the biggest different to their teams performance and happiness levels at work.
What is a check in?
A check-in happens at the beginning of a meeting (a check-out at the end). It’s a way of hearing something from everyone. To enable everyone’s voices to be in the room. In essence, everybody shares how they are as you begin, or responds to a set of a questions (which could be pre-prepared).
How does it work?
If you’re new to check ins, we recommend that you start with a set of pre-prepared questions on a flip, always including ‘how are you feeling?’. Explain the rules;
- We’ll hear something from everyone
- Try to respond to the questions on the flip chart
- Say as much or as little as you like
- We’ll go when we feel energetically it’s our turn rather than death by clockwise
- If no one’s ready, we’ll sit in silence until someone is ready
- We won’t say anything unless it’s our turn – even if we desperately want to agree with something someone else has said, we’ll sit on it
- When everyone has gone, we’ll ask if anyone wants to say anything in response
- We won’t respond to individuals personal content
- What gets shared in the room, stays in the room
- If you’re more experienced at check ins volunteer to go first to give others time to think about their answers and be ready to share a little more than you’re comfortable doing
Some examples of questions?
- What was the highlight from your weekend?
- What’s going well in your team?
- What challenges (if any) are you facing at work?
- What do you hope the focus of this meeting will be?
- Where do you hope we’ll get to at the end of this meeting?
- How are you feeling as we begin?
- Anything that’s going on for you which may be a distraction
The benefits of a check-in (and a check out)
- Allows all voices to be in the room meaning everyone becomes more present
- It offers a process that works for both introvert and extrovert energies making your meetings more inclusive
- People start to learn more about the people they are working alongside cultivating better relationships
- Better relationships mean problems and challenges get fixed quicker or nipped in the bud rather than festering
- It brings more humanness into meetings and the workplace, meaning less unnecessary dramas
- Issues and challenges that cycle around, get gossiped about in corners, start to lose their power and occur less (as more gets surfaced)
- Challenges surfaced can be addressed or at least acknowledged if they can’t be fixed now
- It gets everyone on the same page
- There’s greater clarity around what’s possible from the meeting if you’ve heard where everyone is in relation to it
- It allows you to pivot or refocus if something else bigger is taking up space energetically or mentally
- It’s a good thing to do if you care about your culture
- Thoughts which could be a distraction to people paying attention lose their distractive energy when voiced into a room
- People aren’t used to be listened to deeply and it’s a real gift of respect when done well
- It cultivates more trust and psychological safety
- It empowers people
- When feelings are spoken out loud, they lose some of their power, meaning people can be more present
Things that could go wrong – and what to watch out for
- People not listening well when it’s not their turn
- People multi tasking when it’s not their turn
- Phones being used
- Interrupting someone when they’re middle check-in
- The enticing ‘me too’ moment when someone says something another agrees with and they want to support it (ie not listening)
- Poor check in questions – either being too open or too closed/leading. Always include a generic ‘how are you’ question
- Not sharing the process before you begin – people will be too distracted about the process and not thinking about their the questions or listening attentively to others
- Not holding the boundaries when you’re process and allowing the conversation to float off
- Not reviewing it at the end to see if you can’t improve it next time
If you’re going to do a check in, be sure to tell your meeting what you’re doing and why. Also share the process so everyone is on the same page about the ‘rules’. You’ll then need to ensure that you hold everyone accountable to the ‘rules’ once you begin. It can take some practice to say silent when it’s not your turn.
So there you have it, check-ins and why they can bring about transformational change in your teams and businesses. A simple process with profound impact on multiple levels.
