Tips for Successful Team Catchups

Ever feel like your team meetings are just a bunch of talking heads? You're not alone… But what if I told you the key to unlocking better collaboration, higher engagement, and stronger results lies in something often overlooked? Active listening is more than just keeping quiet while someone speaks… It's about truly paying attention, understanding the speaker's intent, showing the speaker you understand them, and responding thoughtfully I recently coached an David (an engineering manager) on this His team was brimming with talent, but constantly missing deadlines, struggling to collaborate, and fixing mistakes that were caused by misunderstandings David noticed frustration and a lack of engagement, and after digging a little deeper, we identified a core problem… Team members weren't actively listening to each other! Ideas were interrupted, and some felt their voices weren't valued, which created a culture of hesitation and hindered creative problem-solving But changing a team culture starts at the top… Through coaching, David honed his active listening skills and implemented these practices with his team: **Give Full Attention:** David learned to silence distractions, make eye contact, and truly focus on the speaker. This simple act communicated respect and encouraged open communication **Practice Reflection and Paraphrasing:** David began summarizing key points to ensure everyone was on the same page, which clarified understanding and fostered trust **Ask Clarifying Questions:** David encouraged questions to delve deeper into ideas and build upon each other's thoughts, which fostered a more collaborative environment **Embrace Silence:** David created space for thoughtful responses instead of jumping in to fill pauses, which allowed for deeper reflection and richer discussions **Active Listening for All:** David encouraged team members to practice active listening with each other, which fostered a culture of mutual respect and understanding These simple practices produced remarkable results! Communication improved dramatically, deadlines were met, innovation soared, and the team thrived on collaboration because everyone felt empowered to share ideas freely, knowing they would be heard Implement these active listening techniques in your next team meeting and see the difference! #Leadership #CivilEngineering #SoftwareEngineering

Last week I mentioned implementing programs like "Food for Thought" to encourage brainstorming and outside-the-box thinking, as it relates to creating a culture of communication and feedback. Before the pandemic, I used to bring in breakfast, lunch or an afternoon snack and call the meeting Food for Thought where I would get feedback from the team on what is going well and what are the opportunities for improvement. Here are some ideas to incorporate this in a #hybridworkforce: ✅ Virtual Coffee Chats: Schedule virtual coffee sessions where team members can gather online and have casual conversations. This informal setting encourages open discussions and allows for sharing ideas and feedback. ✅ Collaborative Document Sharing/ Online Idea Forums: Utilize collaborative document-sharing tools such as Google Docs or Microsoft Teams to encourage real-time collaboration. Team members can contribute their ideas, provide feedback, and collectively work on projects or problem-solving tasks. ✅ Virtual Brainstorming Sessions: Conduct virtual brainstorming sessions using video conferencing tools. Facilitate interactive discussions where team members can share their ideas and engage in creative problem-solving exercises. ✅ Surveys and Polls: Use online survey tools to gather feedback from team members on specific topics or projects. Surveys can be anonymous to ensure open and honest responses, and the results can be shared and discussed during team meetings. ✅ Virtual Team Building Activities: Organize virtual team-building activities that encourage collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving. These activities can include virtual escape rooms, online trivia games, or team challenges that promote communication and thinking outside the box. Remember, the key is to provide opportunities for active participation and engagement, regardless of the physical location of team members. By embracing technology and fostering a culture of open communication, you can create a collaborative environment conducive to generating new ideas and seeking feedback. Which idea do you like the most? #hybridsales #communication #culture #hybridwork

Do you have trouble getting the entire team to participate in group discussions, brainstorming sessions, etc.? To get people talking in group settings, create a safe and inclusive atmosphere. Here's how: 1. Set Ground Rules: Make it clear that all opinions are valued and that it's a judgment-free zone. 2. Small Talk First: Warm up with light topics so folks get comfortable speaking. 3. Use Open-Ended Questions: Questions that can't be answered with just "yes" or "no" open up the floor for more detailed discussion. 4. Direct Invitations: Sometimes people just need a nudge. Call on them directly but offer an easy out like, "Feel free to pass." 5. Silent Moments: Pause and allow silence. This gives people time to gather their thoughts and often encourages quieter folks to chime in. 6. Positive Reinforcement: When someone does speak up, validate their contribution, even if it's just a simple "great point." 7. Anonymity: Use tools or methods that let people contribute anonymously. Then discuss the anonymous points as a group. 8. Break into Smaller Groups: Big settings can be intimidating. Smaller group discussions can make it easier for people to open up. 9. Rotate Roles: Give different team members the role of facilitator or note-taker in each meeting to encourage active participation. 10. Follow-Up: If someone doesn't speak up but you think they have valuable insights, follow up privately. They may be more comfortable sharing one-on-one. Remember, the goal is not to pressure people into speaking but to make it easier for them to do so if they wish. #leadership #teambuilding #communication

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 . . . 🔷 As leaders, it's common to encounter teams that lack participation, collaboration, and engagement, particularly in meetings. 👉 Research shows: 9 out of 10 people daydream in meetings 50% find meetings unproductive 25% of meetings discuss irrelevant issues 75% of leaders haven’t received formal training on conducting meetings 🔷 As leaders, we know that low participation in meetings can severely impact team productivity by reducing collaboration, leading to poor decision-making, eroding team unity, and wasting time and resources. 🔷Traditional strategies to boost participation—such as setting clear agendas and asking open-ended questions—often fall short. Instead, fostering a safe, inclusive team culture is key. 👇 Here’s how leaders can tackle this issue: 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 Focus on understanding individual team members through one-on-one meetings. This approach uncovers valuable insights and encourages future engagement. Key questions include: ❓How do you feel about your role and contributions? ❓Are there any challenges impacting your participation? ❓What changes could improve your meeting experience? 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 Address team-level dynamics with these strategies: ✅ Set Clear Expectations: Define desired behaviors and model them. ✅ Celebrate Positive Behaviors: Recognize team members who embody supportive and constructive behaviors. ✅ Invite Participation: Embed desired behaviors into every meeting, encouraging everyone to contribute. 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 🎇 Introduce New Rituals: Start meetings by reaffirming team values and behaviors. 🎇Enhance Structure: Ensure agendas are clear and communicated in advance. 🎇Rotate Facilitation: Empower all team members by rotating the facilitation role. 🎇Address Power Dynamics: Make sure all voices are heard equally. 🌟 By creating a supportive team culture and addressing both personal and group dynamics, leaders can transform team meetings into productive and inclusive sessions. 💡 Ask your team regularly: “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧?” Let their answers guide you to a more engaged and participative meeting environment!

Earlier this year, I facilitated a strategy session where one person’s voice dominated while quiet team members retreated into their shells. Halfway through, I paused, put everyone into small groups, and gave them roles to pick up. Here's how it works: 1️⃣ Assign Roles: Each small group had a Questioner, Connector, and Synthesizer. - Questioner: Probes deeper and asks clarifying, “why?” and “how?” questions. - Connector: Links ideas across people, points out overlaps and sparks “aha” moments. - Synthesizer: Distills discussion into concise insights and next-step recommendations. 2️⃣ Clarify Focus: Groups tackled one critical topic (e.g., “How might we streamline on-boarding?”) for 10 minutes. 3️⃣ Reconvene & Share: Each group’s Synthesizer distilled insights in 60 seconds. The result? Silent participants suddenly spoke up, ideas flowed more freely, and we landed on three actionable priorities in our timebox. Next time you sense a lull in your meeting/session/workshop, try role-based breakouts. #Facilitation #Breakouts #TeamEngagement #ActiveParticipation Sutey Coaching & Consulting --------------------------------------------- ☕ Curious to dive deeper? Let’s connect. https://lnkd.in/gGJjcffw

As a leader, one of the most crucial elements to monitor for the success of your endeavors is team alignment. As cheesy as it sounds, it truly is the glue that holds everything together, ensuring that every member is moving in sync towards shared goals. After realizing that there was opportunity for alignment, in August, I began regular check-ins with my leadership team. The group meetings, like the one in this photo, are still important. However, individual structured meetings have proven to be the cornerstone of maintaining this alignment. It provides an opportunity to assess progress, clarify objectives, and address any discrepancies before they snowball into larger issues. However, it's essential to approach these meetings with intentionality to reap their full benefits. Far too often, well-intentioned check-ins devolve into daily stand-ups that function as mere status updates, where team members recite their tasks without meaningful engagement. This not only wastes everyone's time but also fails to foster the alignment necessary for collective success. Instead, here are some tips to ensure your check-ins are effective in promoting team alignment: 1. Set a clear objective: Before each meeting, define specific objectives or topics to be discussed. This provides focus and ensures that conversations are purposeful and productive. 2. Focus on goals, not tasks: Rather than dwelling on individual tasks, steer the conversation towards broader goals and objectives. This helps contextualize individual contributions within the larger picture, promoting alignment towards overarching targets. 3. Address roadblocks proactively: Use check-ins as an opportunity to identify and address any obstacles or challenges hindering progress. By proactively tackling issues, you can prevent them from derailing the team's alignment and momentum. These strategies have helped transform "quick conversation in passing" into powerful tools for fostering team alignment and driving collective success. Effective alignment doesn't happen by chance – it requires intentional effort and consistent communication. So what does your team do to stay aligned?

START WITH THE END IN MIND Everyone’s schedules have changed, and they have new norms in their professional and personal lives. Understand what those norms are and plan your team’s work around these commitments for both in-person and virtual work. In our hybrid workplace, reading carefully is the new listening and writing and speaking clearly is the new empathy. Further, thriving at work will be much easier if you communicate your expectations and needs with your team and leaders. Create communication norms around collaboration. Here are some examples: -For smaller meetings, leaders should review the employees’ availability on their calendar before scheduling a call as a sign of respect. -If someone can’t do a call on Friday afternoons, make sure that is noted in yours or the team’s calendar and respected. -If you need the daily 15 min touchpoint at 10am ET instead of 4pm ET because you are picking your kids up from school, make that known! -If you want a response to an urgent message after hours, agree on using a phone call or labeling an email with URGENT to align. But if it’s really urgent, then text and let them know who you are (texts don’t have caller ID) instead of leaving a voicemail. -If you have 3 reply all emails and haven’t resolved an issue, switch to a phone call.

As I'm hosting Mid-Year Reviews this week, a few best practices that may be useful as you're running/attending them yourself. Just one man's opinion. What else is on your list? 1) The leader sets the agenda and communicates it with team member(s) as early as possible. Ideally 1+ week out. 2) Start on time, end on time. Honor the schedule and limit stories or tangents that aren't productive. 3) 80/20 Rule: The team member does 80% of the talking and comes prepared with self-reflection, goals and action items for the upcoming time period (ex: Q3). As the leader, ask open ended questions. The answers are a window into the person's mindset. Two-way learning should occur. 4) Leader needs to be proactively intentional about their Know/Feel/Do coming out of the meeting. Meaning... *What do you want your person to KNOW after the meeting? Perhaps it's awareness of where they stand, clarifying EBR's, IDP, 9-Box ranking, etc. **How do you want the person to FEEL after the meeting? Motivated? Supported? On the hot seat? Begin with the end in mind. ***What do you expect them to DO as a result of the QBR? What behaviors need to start/stop/continue? 5) Facts > Feelings. Use bits of data to paint a fair picture of where the person is at. Not in a "gotcha" mentality, but to hold a mirror up for honest reflection.  6) Lastly, the money is in the follow-up. Take notes, establish a plan, execute the plan. No value if these conversations occur and then nothing happens for 90-days.

“My teammate is a reserved person, and I find it challenging to get them to open up during our one-on-one meetings. Whether they're uncomfortable discussing certain topics or simply prefer to keep things brief, I want to create a more meaningful connection and draw out their thoughts.” A typical situation which happens quite a lot during the career of every manager. Hopefully, there are effective tips and tricks that can help me overcome this common situation and make our one-on-one meetings more productive and insightful. 🤔💡" 🔵 Avoid the Yes/No Trap: Instead of asking questions with one-word answers, opt for open-ended inquiries that encourage more elaborate responses. For instance, replace "Did you complete the project?" with "Tell me about your progress on the project and any roadblocks you've encountered." 🔵 Start with Neutral Topics: Kick off the conversation with light and non-threatening topics to build rapport. Casual questions like "How was your weekend?" or "What are your hobbies outside of work?" can set a relaxed tone and gradually lead to deeper discussions. 🔵 Show Empathy and Patience: Recognize that some individuals take time to open up. Demonstrate genuine empathy and patience during the conversation, reassuring them that their perspectives are valued. 🔵 Listen Actively: Active listening is a superpower! 🦸♂️ Be fully present during the conversation, maintain eye contact, and nod in acknowledgment to show that you're genuinely interested in what they have to say. 🔵 Use "What" and "How" Questions: Employ questions like "What challenges are you facing in your current project?" or "How do you feel about your role in the team?" These encourage detailed responses and deeper insights. 🔵 Allow Silence: Don't be afraid of silence during the conversation. Give your direct report space to collect their thoughts and respond in their own time. 🔵 Be Supportive: Ensure your team members know that you're there to help and support them. Show appreciation for their efforts and celebrate their achievements, fostering a positive and trusting atmosphere. 🔵 Reflect and Summarize: Throughout the conversation, paraphrase their responses and summarize key points to show that you're actively engaged and value their input. 🔵 End with Encouragement: Conclude the meeting by thanking them for their honesty and contributions. Express your commitment to their growth and well-being within the organization. By incorporating these strategies, you'll create a safe and empowering space for your quieter direct reports to thrive and shine! 💪 Remember, understanding and supporting our team members is a continuous journey that enriches both their professional development and your leadership skills. #LeadershipSkills #OneonOneMeetings #OpenEndedQuestions #CommunicationTips #EmployeeEngagement #TeamBuilding 🚀🤝