Leadership Team Meeting JumpStart Practice
“A healthy system recognizes the humanity of its participants.”
Here’s a practice ANY leadership team or group can implement to instantly build team connection, surface collaboration, and create a smooth runway for productivity and goal outcomes.
The intention is to create a fertile ground for team engagement, belonging, and fulfillment at work.
Leadership Team Meeting Opening Practice
This practice is used at the start of ANY meeting. All phones down, no distractions, everyone in listening mode. Practice takes 3 minutes per participant, and can be done with teams of 2 or more.
Each participants goes around the table or zoom window and answers the following 3 questions:
1) What’s the BIGGEST thing on my mind?
2) What am I most PROUD of?
3) What do I need help with?
4) With THAT I’m IN! - end your answers with this statement signaling to the group you are complete, all IN, and then pass it to the next person by name.
Question Intent and Opportunity:
Question 1: What’s the BIGGEST thing on my mind?
Reveals what each participant is carrying into the meeting. What they might be distracted by and therefore not hear/listen or participate. This helps unload and name it. This also reveals the status of individual colleagues and where everyone is collectively as a team. This is essential information for a leader responsible for the team as they can manage what surfaces more easily.
Question 2: What am I most PROUD of?
Reveals what lights people up. What they care about, what they wish to celebrate and give notice to. Seldom do we stop for things that are uplifting as we are typically in problem solving mode. Appreciation breeds positive energy in the group and is nice to share in others happiness and success.
Question 3: What do I need help with?
Opens the opportunity for cross-functional collaboration. We are not programmed to easily ask for help, so this question normalizes asking and getting help. Facilitates partnerships, 1:1 team connections, and encourages people to lean in and help each other out. Build team cohesion around supporting one another, removing isolation, and supporting shared achievement toward outcomes. Your success is our success!
Final Statement: “With That I’m In”
This signals you are complete and ALL in, ready for the work at hand! After this statement, pass the baton to the next person by going clockwise or counterclockwise around the table or by naming a person by name to go next. “I pass the baton to xyz!”
A simple 15-20 minute opening to a leadership team meeting has the opportunity to produce multiple riches for any team and organization.
Please reach out if you would like more tools like this, team coaching, or facilitated workshops on leadership development, team cohesion and communication, culture development, and business growth strategy support.