Do you implement morning huddles in your workplace?
As a leadership expert and keynote speaker, I talk to a lot of managers who use the morning huddle as a way to rally their troops at the start of each new day. I’m not here to tell you that morning huddles are essential, or that they work for every business, but I am here to tell you that huddles can be powerful ways for building team unity, boosting morale, and ensuring that all of your team members are oriented toward the same goal.
In short, huddles can be key for building engagement—but how do you ensure that your morning huddles are actually effective?
Building A More Effective Morning Huddle
A few tips come to mind:
- Be consistent. A morning huddle is meaningful as a daily ritual; it’s less meaningful if you huddle for a day or two, then forget about it for a month, then do it again, then off again and back on again. You’ve got to invest in huddles as part of your team’s daily rhythm.
- Shake things up. At the same time, don’t be afraid to change the structure or contents of your huddles from time to time. Like any ritual, a morning huddle can become rote. Keep things lively.
- Be thankful. One way to shake up your ritual is to begin morning huddles with a few words of thanksgiving. Express what it is and who it is you are thankful for—big achievements, significant progress, reasons you and your team should feel happy.
- Learn together. Share a valuable lesson learned or a new piece of information you picked up on the previous day. Encourage your team members to follow suit.
- Count down. Have something fun on the horizon—a getaway, a retreat, or just a holiday—that you can all look forward to together.
- Meet on your feet. Actually, stand in a circle formation for your huddle. Begin the day by getting some blood pumping. Take a break from the sedentary nature of office life.
- Identify challenges. Though the point of the huddle is to boost morale, you also want to be careful to specify upcoming obstacles or challenges and to work with your team on the right strategies for facing them.
Above all: Keep it brief! Nobody wants to have their day begin with a useless hour-long meeting. Make it five minutes, focus on quickly delivering valuable information, then let your team members get on with their work!