Team Huddle: How to Lead Impactful Huddle Meetings

weekly huddle meeting & daily huddle meeting & team huddle meeting

The foundation of a successful Daily Huddle Meeting, Team Huddle Meeting or Weekly Meeting is a great facilitator to keep the weekly team huddle on track for an effective and productive huddle meeting for all.

Give the Team Huddle Meaning:

Be dedicated. The qualities of a good facilitator should be taken into account when choosing the leader of the meeting, not just the person with the loftiest title. A good facilitator is dedicated to the regular meeting rhythm. Weekly Huddle Meetings and Daily Huddles should happen on their designated days/times without fail and held to strict time limits. If a person is not able to attend, they should still prepare by doing their Weekly Meeting Prep and sending their Victories, Priorities and Stucks to the Daily Huddle facilitator so that their voice can be heard. A good facilitator holds the team accountable to being prepared for each huddle meeting.

Focus on the How, not the Why. Efficient Weekly Meetings produce solutions-based discussions instead of status-based presentations. The facilitator should not ask why Red and Yellow are struggling. Instead, they should guide the discussion by asking the team how to move struggling priorities toward Green. The goal is to improve communication among team members to address issues on a regular basis.

Steer Clear of Tangents. The best facilitators do a great job of reeling discussion in and keeping the team focused. If the discussion takes a left turn, bring everyone back to center. If a discussion only involves 2 people, ask them to take it offline. The goal is to keep everyone engaged. If your huddles tend to go on too long, you might change them to a stand up meeting which allows everyone to stand to keep up the energy and make sure that it doesn't get too far of track.

Drive Team Accountability. Executive teams that list at least 2-3 Actions for each Individual Priority are infinitely more successful with execution. Every week, the facilitator should review the Actions List with the team as part of the Weekly Meeting Agenda. As Actions come up during the Weekly Huddle or Daily Team Huddle, the facilitator should record those so they don't slip through the cracks. Most teams prefer to have their huddles in the morning where they share their top priorities for the day and address issues that are impeding progress with a regular schedule of productive meetings.

Share Facilitator Duties. Some of the most advanced teams rotate facilitator duties throughout the executive team. At the beginning of the quarter, the weeks are assigned. If someone isn't able to cover their week, they have to find someone to switch. This takes the responsibility off of one person, and gives everyone the experience of facilitating. It also improves Weekly Meeting Prep and participation because everyone gets a taste of how it feels when you are the facilitator and someone doesn't contribute.

What victories can you share from your daily huddle meetings and weekly meetings?

Are you struggling with team huddles? If so, please call us for help.

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