Anni in Conversation, Team Working: On Checking In & Checking Out

Leaders in Conversation with Anni Townend

Help transform your meetings from the transactional into the relational, through checking in with each other at the start of the meeting and at the end of a meeting - be the meeting in person or online. Indeed checking in when we are meeting online matters more, not less, to make sure that everyone feels they have a voice, and that they will be listened to.
I truly believe that we could make our meetings more effective through making time to give people space to think, and to speak, and to be listened to and to know that we are listening to each other - through looking at each other, and giving each other 'focused attention'.
Making time for people to arrive in the meeting, to take a moment to think 'How am I' and then to share a few words helps everyone to 'meet each other where they are at' ahead of getting into the content of the meeting. Through doing this check in people feel welcomed, they know that they matter and their contribution matters both in their listening to others, but also in their speaking with others.
Checking out is of equal importance, thanking people for their participation, and encouraging everyone to say one thing about their experience of the meeting reminds us why meetings matter, and how important acknowledging our human to human connection is.