Team meetings, the circuitous path to truth, beauty, intimacy

Dear Unstoppable Woman,

I want to share something that’s been really beautiful for me recently… surprisingly, it’s a meeting. I kid you not.

This is strange as my word for the year is spaciousness and the last thing I wanted was more meetings on my calendar. Anything but!

And yet, three of the key principles that guide me are Truth, Beauty, and Intimacy.

I realized recently that I wasn’t intimately (or as intimately as I wanted to be) involved with my Team.

I wanted to know them better. And lead them better.

So, I instituted a 20 minute Daily Huddle (Mon-Thurs, Fridays are free days. :) 

Every day, it’s a quick, targeted check-in.

Here’s the agenda (feel free to swipe and use yourself):

1. What’s something new and good that’s not TUW company related? (Intimacy)
2. Stats review – we look at the move the needle business metrics as a Team so everyone knows where we stand. (Truth and transparency.)
3. Leadership Update (More Truth and transparency) 

We start each meeting with something new and good–this could be my favorite part! I want to know the women on my Team and I realized I often am all about business. Not anymore! Every day, we find something good happening in our personal lives to celebrate. 

This last week we had a team member who lost 5lbs, one whose son learned to ride a bike, and another who is taking ASL classes. Likely, I wouldn’t have known any of this had we not been having daily huddles and celebrating non business related things! (My share for today is: TANGO LESSONS! Omg! So fun :)

Side note: Often in business we talk about conscious sales. Connecting authentically with prospective clients. I want to challenge you to also have authentic relationships with our team members as well. It doesn’t mean you will be best friends (though there are women I’m very close to on my Team), but what can happen when we invest in them authentically (read= care, giving a s_ _t) is that the TRUST goes up and they invest more authentically in our vision as well. It’s a win/win :)

Next, we review where we’re at with the business – we’re talking sales numbers, goals, marketing stats, etc. I lot of business owners are afraid to share this with their Team. I decided to pull back the curtains and treat people like adults. I figured if they knew, they’d be more invested and it’s absolutely true. Plus… energy flows where attention goes, so you want everyone focused on the key metrics.

It’s been really empowering for me to hear how smart, creative, and innovative my team is and it is really freeing to know that I don’t have to have all the answers! I have surrounded myself with people who are committed to the vision and bring brilliance to the table. (I knew, but now I know!

Lastly, is the leadership update. This is where I share any decisions that have been made, dates or timelines on new initiatives, staff changes, or updates to current initiatives. The Team LOVES THIS! They’re in the know and it keeps the communication flowing. They then ask me questions that my update sparks and that in turn saves us a ton of time clarifying in real time, rather than back and forth in Slack.  

Now, why am I telling you about these daily huddles that only take 20m?

Because sometimes it’s the things we think are limiting us that are actually bring us great freedom!

When we shift our perspective and choose how we want to experience our day, we can either be constrained and shut down or we can be loosened and set free.

I choose freedom! I hope you do too… 

What can do today that you may have resistance to but would align you with your guiding principles?