Humanize your Meeting

When your team member’s minds are elsewhere, both collaboration and productivity suffer

What method can we deploy to make sure that the teamwork we do is focused, energized, creative and geared for the best possible output? Whether you have a formal management role or not, chances are you’re often in meetings, leading a conversation, presentation or workshop in some way. This session explores how a simple technique called CHECK-IN empowers a team to be more involved, more understanding of each other and become more productive as a result.

IN THIS LEARNING KIT: 

1. Typical challenges we face in meetings
2. For more productive meetings, do a Check-in first
3. How to do a Check-in?
4. Your Tasks

You know the feeling right? Sitting in a truly ineffective meeting, feeling some combination of boredom, frustration, confusion, and impatience, etc.? Maybe you’ve been part of one or more of the following:

4 typical challenges we face in meetings

   1.    
Why is IT tough to start a meeting and get participants to focus?

That is because naturally many people are worried about what happened before the meeting or what will happen afterwards. People’s minds are busy. How might we allow people to remove their personal distractions so that it’s easier to focus on the purpose of the meeting? 

   2.    
Why it is tough to understand or deal with the opinions of different people in the meeting?

We are probably aware of our own intention in a meeting, but what are other people’s intentions? How can we know where everyone’s mind is at, to drive clarity? Wouldn’t it be great if we can adjust how we facilitate the meeting or be more tolerant if someone acts defensive or is more silent than usual?

   3.    
Why it is tough for everyone in a meeting to have a voice?

How might we allow everyone to speak up as early in the meeting as possible? Teams benefit from the diversity of thinking. Unfortunately, introverts, outsiders, or junior employees —to name a few—feel intimidated to speak up. They fear being judged. And if they do not speak as early as possible in a meeting, the chances of them speaking-up later in the meeting are even lower. 

   4.    
Why is it tough to instantly have everyone in the meeting trust the other participants?

When you have an unbreakable trusting relationship with someone, it’s easier to share your blind spots or weaknesses. However, which comes first? We’ve been raised to think that work and personal life shouldn’t mix. We are one single entity; what happens at work doesn’t stay at work. And the other way around. How might we allow people to bring their soul to work and share our personal struggles, mindsets, and emotions, without it being labeled “too touchy-feely”?

For more productive meetings
do a check-in first 

Here is a way to solve these questions. There is one technique that influences all 4 questions in a positive way. This technique is called Check-in. 

The Check-in technique enables you to:

  Put aside distractions  

Enable participants to share whatever is on their minds and connect to the now and here. When they realize what’s distracting them, it’s easier to put those things aside and get their mind into the meeting.

  Practice Empathy   

Allow participants to empathize with and understand someone else’s mindset, we become less judgmental of how they behave.

  Create a safe space   

Provide everyone with an opportunity to voice-out where their mind is at the start of the meeting, and by listening and accepting their input you allow them to feel safe and confident to share again, later in the meeting.

  Embrace vulnerability   

Create trust in a very human and effective way.

"What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think – or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?"

— Brené Brown, Research Professor at the University of Houston

Sharing what keeps your mind busy is the first step. Bringing your vulnerable self to a meeting will encourage others to do so too.

How to do a check-in 

Checking-in invites each member in a group to be present, seen, and heard. Checking-in emphasizes presence, focus, and group commitment. How do you do a check-in?

The way that Doris started a conversation with you today is an example of a check-in. Using emoticons is one way. Using a "check-in question" is another way. This is very simple:

  When?   

At the beginning of every meeting. Remember to include it in the agenda. We recommend that you start in
small doses. Begin with one or two team meetings. It’s better to go deeper with a couple rather than trying to change
everyone at the same time gaining no depth or traction.

  How long?   

Checking-in shouldn’t take too long. As a thumbs rule, aim for five minutes tops for an 8 to 10 participants meeting. Initially, participants won’t share much and then will jump to the other extreme. It takes some time to find the sweet spot between people staying silent or oversharing.

  Who does what?   

Designate one facilitator to manage check-in in a purposeful and timely manner. This role should rotate among team members. Preparation is essential. Everyone in the room participates regardless of roles (facilitators and bosses check-in too). Some people feel uneasy “sharing” in front of their boss. I understand it’s hard but the payoff — exponential trust and candor — is worth it.

To start off 

As the Facilitator, you prepare a specific question for everyone to answer.

You could start using this question: “Say a few words on how you are arriving today – what you might need to say to be fully present today”.

Here are a few tips on what questions you could prepare for different situations:

What questions do I ask?

Choose a reflection question that will support the kind of mood and atmosphere that you want to create. What has just happened? What are they about to do? Has there been conflict? Is this a celebration?
Here are a few suggestions:

  General   

What do I need to share to be present in this session?
How do I feel right now?
What am I excited/worried about?
What animal represents my mood today?
What song / movie / story represents my mood today?
One surprising thing that happened to me recently...
One thing you don’t know about me is...

  Early in a project   

What am I bringing to this group?
How do I feel working in this group?
What is my vision for this group?

  During a project   

How do I feel working in this team?
What metaphor would I use to describe this group?
What’s making me heavy and what’s making me lighter right now?

  End of a project   

What has been my highest high and lowest low from this project?
What big insight am I taking with me?
What am I going to do differently in my next group?
Whom would I like to acknowledge in the group?

Keep it short

Managing time is crucial for running effective meetings. As a facilitator, you can introduce different constraints to a check-in to allow for more or less time.

Examples are:

“In one word...”
“In two words...”
“In one sentence...”
“Think of three things...”
“Taking as much time as you need...”