How to ‘get down to work’ at meetings
The beginnings of meetings are interesting moments. People arrive, some start up conversations between themselves, others wait in silence and others continue to respond to messages on their phones. I often get a good sense of how the team is doing overall by just observing these first few minutes of a monthly meeting which I chair. Twenty four of us come together to review the previous month’s work, discuss improvements and learn what others in the larger team are working on.
A ritual which allows the team to settle, come together and to begin work on the meeting agenda is the ‘check in’, a brief act of communication where we all take time to become aware of our overall mood and to share that with others. This can take the form of a brief summary if the number of participants and time allows or just a quick choice between the three colors of a set of traffic lights: red for ‘not good’, / orange for ‘things could be better but they are not unmanageable’ green is for ‘things are going well’. These can be communicated equally well in virtual and in person meetings.
There does not need to be a explanation for any choice. I try to take time to summarize what I am seeing and hearing and to transmit this back to the team. It is a way of saying, “I hear you and now we are all aware”. If there is much mention of red or expressions of low mood, I may make time to privately follow up with the person concerned in case the feeling is work related and I can do something to help. This is because the purpose of the ‘check in’ is not problem solving or making people feel uncomfortable with unfamiliar levels of self exposure.
It is an opportunity for HR professionals to become aware of what their baseline emotional level is through frequent practice. This is important because so many interactions in an HR day are emotionally charged.
Checking in is an act of communication and making others aware of what is going on allows them to take that into account during the meeting and beyond.
By becoming aware of our inner emotional states and the events that have led up to them, we can leave them ‘at the door’ of the meeting room/ virtual space and focus more fully on the work at hand.
What helps
Keeping it brisk whilst maintaining its importance. During the Covid pandemic ‘checking in’ came into its own and could be expanded to allow for the extra reality checking and connection the context called for.
Change it up: sometimes using traffic lights, sometimes asking people to select from a list of emotion words, sometimes asking for simple descriptions or sharing an image are all useful ways for supporting check ins.
Remembering the purposes of checking in and not being tempted to try to solve all issues or become defensive in justifying what is happening.
Frequent reminders of the reasons for ‘checking in’. I usually ask someone on the team to explain the 3 aims of the ‘check in’ each time a new person joins the team.
Resources
Ayot, W. (2015) ‘Messaging the Soul’ Counselling at Work Magazine, Winter 2015, BACP.
In this article Ayot looks at the under rated importance of rituals at work. He goes far beyond elements such as the ‘check in’ and considers rituals as ‘rites of passage’ in organizational life.
