62 - Better Huddles

How can you get teams to perform better together?

How can you improve relationships at work?

How can you boost satisfaction in your teams?

How can you see and solve problems more quickly?

You can get all of these benefits by using team huddles. 

I recommend huddling everyday and at every level of the organization. 

At the working level/the value creation level/where the rubber meets the road or Tier 1, I recommend starting the huddle within the first hour of the work shift or the work day.  Maybe allow just enough time to allow for people arriving just a little late for one reason or another.  Set a time and always start on time.

What will you do in the huddle?

You talk about how yesterday went, reviewing the key metrics, reviewing problems that occurred, and celebrating the successes you had.  Then celebrate whatever is happening today:  birthday's anniversaries, vacations, babies, graduations, etc.

Then you talk about Today.  What's the plan for today ("Here's what we have to finish today:")

So to make a huddle work, you have to have a plan for the day.

At tiers 2, 3, and 4 it's essentially the same, but these need to look further out than just today.  Tier 2 should anticipate needs for the next week or two.  Tier 3 next month.  Tier 4 next quarter and next year.  But everyone works everyday, and if you want these leadership levels to perform as teams, they need to have a daily plan and meet daily as well.

The key thing that makes all of this work ends up being what you measure.  If you measure the wrong things (things that aren't really something the teams can effect) then nobody really cares and the huddle will just be something they have to do. 

If you measure the right things, everything changes.  How do you know what the right things are?  Ask the teams.  Experiment a little.  If you just use whatever the senior leadership or the continuous improvement team gives you, it's not likely to work.  They just need different things.  They do have to be tied together, but they still have to be relevant to the team. 

So work with it.  The question that might help is "What do we need to know the most every day?"

If you have questions or if you need a little help getting these sorted, I can help.  Just send me a note and we'll figure it out.

Set your calendar alarm now so you can join me for a Lean Coffee discussion Wednesday at noon.  Then, Wednesday at 4 I'm hosting a webinar featuring Bruce Ross, a friend of mine in New Zealand.  His title is "Re-establish the Life, Business (and Bank Account) You Want…. Without Fear of Burnout".  I'll post the registration link in the comments.

On Thursday, I'm kicking off a weekly series of webinars on organizational culture with the aim of helping you reshape the company to get the culture and performance you want.  I'll share a little more of this tomorrow.

Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow.

- David