I’m a big advocate of regular huddles. If you’ve ever worked with me, you know this! So today, I want to give some reminders about how to have great huddles, and also some tips if you feel like yours are getting a bit stale:
What makes huddles great:
- They happen standing up. Sit down and they go 30% longer, and 30% of the energy drains out of the room
- They’re timed. Appoint a timer. Once you’ve passed 10 (ish) minutes, walk away
- They start precisely on time. If you wait for stragglers, the people there on time make a mental note to be late next time
- They’re never skipped. Once you skip, you fall out of rhythm and soon they aren’t happening anymore
- Everyone participates
- Responses are tweet-sized, not novel size
- You have a traffic cop who directs the huddle and keeps it on track and on time
What kills your huddles:
- Allowing vague responses; ‘Just lots to do today.’ Use names. Cite specifics. Don’t allow generalities, ever
- Going too long. As soon as they lengthen, you’ll hate them and find reasons to let them die
- Allowing conversations to happen that don’t involve everyone. If they come up, just say, “Let’s take that offline after the huddle.”
Huddle questions:
- What’s your top priority for the day/week?
- What’s your roadblock?
- What’s one win you’ve had?
- Anything we should know about your area or your team?
- What’s something you do around here that others may not know about?
Huddle ideas:
- Recognize someone who’s lived out a core value
- Focus on one small part of your one page plan and explain why it’s there
- Tell stories around the core values and purpose
- Recognize birthdays/anniversaries
- Start with a check-in out of 10 (how is the person feeling as they check in?)
- End with a cheer
- Pass on information-outgoing – what’s new at the company? What’s in the news?
- Alternate huddle leadership
- Ask someone to bring an inspirational quote of the day
Spice up your huddles! Push back on the pushback! They take 10 minutes; that’s a bathroom break. Communication is critical.
These are my ideas. If you have others, hit reply and I’d love to hear about them!
