7 Great Questions to Check In at the Start of Your Team Meeting
7 Great Questions to Check In at the Start of Your Team Meeting
We are in tough times right now. I could list the challenges and crises we are facing in our world, our cities, our families, and our businesses, but you already know what they are.
When people show up for your team meeting, you may have no idea what they are managing in their personal lives. Most people put on a game face at work but are struggling emotionally.
Checking in personally for the first ten minutes of your team meeting has many benefits. This simple team building activity is worth the return on investment.
The benefits of checking in at the beginning of a team meeting:
- Shows that you care about them as human beings.
- Informs you and the team about everyone’s head and heart space at the moment.
- Strengthens connections which builds trust.
- Gives people the opportunity to say and release what is on their mind so they can better focus on the meeting topic.
Here are 7 questions to check in at the beginning of your team meeting:
- Are you red, yellow, or green today and why? (Let them interpret what red, yellow, and green mean).
- On a scale of 1-10, how are you doing today (or this week) and why? (One is a terrible day and ten is a fabulous day.)
- What is going on with you today?
- What is on your mind today?
- What color of the rainbow are you today and why? (Source: Cynthia Pace)
- Give us a verbal tweet about your best or hardest thing in the last 48 hours. (Source: Claudia Brogan)
- Fill in the blanks: “Right now I’m feeling ____ and by the end of the meeting I’d like to ____.” (Source: Aimee Cooper)
I learned many struggles that were on the minds of the people in my meetings that would have not been known by asking questions like these. For example, a family member is in ICU, a child who is anxious about starting school, a sinus infection, a sleepless night, covering for team members who are out sick. Sometimes I hear happy stories including someone excited about an upcoming vacation, a new team member’s arrival, or a birthday.
Teams who get connected and get to know each other through the ups and downs of life are more likely to be engaged. Facilitating a ten-minute team building activity to check in can do wonders for morale in times where there is a lot of adversity, uncertainty, and stress. While you might be tempted to get straight to business, you’ll miss the opportunity to form meaningful relationships that will get your teams through tough times.
About the Author: Leigh Ann Rodgers, Founder of Better Teams and the Forward, community, is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator with 20 years of experience in the human development field. Leigh Ann is a skilled meeting facilitator, trainer, and coach working across the globe to help leaders cultivate teams that are happy and high-performing.
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