Help Your Team Stay Engaged
In these days of unprecedented circumstances, it’s important that leaders adapt their approach to leading their teams to one that fosters continued engagement and productivity. One example of this was shared by my client, Katie Osborn, CEO of Via Collective, a strategic wayfinding design firm focused on ensuring a good experience as you get from here to there. She knew that, despite the work from home flexibility some of her employees enjoyed, the required work from home for all in NYC would be a different experience for all her employees. Additionally, she wanted to be able to maintain a sense of company culture, stay on top of being available for her team, and keep them informed on the constant change that was happening around them.
To support these goals, Katie began conducting morning huddles – a 15-minute Zoom meeting each morning during which each team member has 2 minutes to share with their colleagues:
One word that describes how they feel today (e.g., motivated, anxious),
The big achievement they had yesterday,
The goal they want to accomplish today, and
What they need help on today.
She intuitively knew that bringing the team together regularly would provide a structure and tone for the day and help her team stay productive and engaged during this otherwise challenging time.
Recognizing yesterday’s achievements and stating today's goals reinforce every team members’ contribution towards the overall objective (impact). Knowing how each other feels that day leads them to adjust how they communicate with each other (empathy). Asking for help from colleagues enhances relationships with each other and shapes the team’s culture of unity and care (community). Learning new things (development) from each other allows team members to share their capabilities (strengths) with each other while providing professional growth opportunities to others (development). These are things that we as leaders should ensure happen every day, whether at the office or when working remotely. ( Read more. ) Ultimately, these huddles would reinforce that they are all in it together.
When you think about it, using our strengths and growing our capabilities, being part of a community that fosters collaboration, empathy and strong professional relationships among colleagues, and recognizing accomplishments and valuable contributions are things that we as leaders should ensure happens every day, whether at the office or when working remotely. The difference now is that we have to work harder and differently to do what we used to do, or should’ve been doing all along. These morning huddles are just one way to help your employees stay engaged. What other ways have you found to be successful? __________________________________________________________________________ Read more about the roles your organization, your manager and you play in keeping your employees engaged.
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