The Huddle: Where the Action Happens (Even Virtually)

the huddle where the action happens (even virtually) blog

Your company Huddle is your weekly opportunity to intentionally communicate with your team. This list of ideas and tips will help you refresh, expand, and even strengthen your Huddle and ensure your whole team is engaged and informed. Check out these best practices for getting the most out of your Huddle, whether it be in person or virtually! Use these tips to make your next team Huddle a big success.

Maximize Your Huddle

The Huddle needs to be motivational as well as operational. A Huddle has to be a “same place, same time” event for the players. Everyone on the team needs to attend, there has to be consistent structure and everyone has to answer questions such as: How are we doing now? Where are we going? Are we winning The Game?

Follow the 80/20 Rule

During a Huddle 80 percent of your conversation has to be forward-focused, not rehashing the past. The further out your conversations (weekly versus monthly numbers), the more advanced your team will be with your financial literacy. Offer the opportunity for everyone to be a Game changer by:

Making sure everyone can see the scoreboard and commit to the plan.
Avoiding problem solving in this meeting. If an issue arises, take it off-line and address it later with the appropriate team members.
Don’t own the conversation. The less the leaders speak, the better!

Make It Your Own

venturity -Huddle - 1 How can you make your Huddles stand out from a regular meeting? Think about ways that will stir energy and excitement — things that are unique to your Huddles rather than your day-to-day or departmental meetings.

Consider these ideas:

If everyone at the Huddle is comfortable doing so, change it up and ask the team to stand instead of sit.
Kick off your Huddle with the good stuff! Start off with team shout ours or ask the team if they have any positive thoughts to share.
End your Huddle with a “hoot and a holler” about a recent win, and celebrate the players involved.

Go Virtual and Include Everyone

Huddle on zoom Your scoreboard line items determine your conversation topics, and each line item owner gets to present the information and confirm commitment to the plan. Center your Huddles around ALL your employees by making it easy for remote staff to attend. When you have team members in different locations try you conducting your Huddle virtually.

If your team is available, but you have some members who work remotely, there's software you can utilize to accelerate your efficiencies. It might take some getting used to and it's important to make sure everyone can see and hear, but the reward of including remote employees can definitely pay off.

Some things to consider when Huddling virtually:

Can you use a web-based audio and video meeting?
Can you see the attendees all at the same time?
Can you screen share?
Can you have a live, web-based scoreboard? Can you still share the books and fill out the scoreboard during the meeting so you can enjoy the benefits of “forward forecasting” from the team?
Can you record your meeting?
Does the software allow for fun?

Of course, nothing will ever replace the energy of an in-person, face-to-face Huddle, but this is certainly a better option than leaving teammates out. Many of our practitioners use Zoom video-conferencing platform to make sure everyone is included and can easily hear and see the scoreboard.

Finish With Needs/Nice to Haves

At the end of your Huddle, you should have accomplished a series of “nice to haves” and “need to haves.” These are a mixture of things you absolutely need to be productive and some things that would be nice to have if you could manage it.

Check out the following examples:

Need to Haves: These are vital items. They are what you need in order to accomplish a productive, efficient and meaningful Huddle.

Can every player in your Game say:

I know that the company is currently winning The Game, and we are confident we will hit our annual plan.
I know we're winning in our current MiniGame™, and I know what I need to do to support the team to continue to hit our goals.
I know where we stand today on our annual stake in the outcome, and what I have to do to support our annual winning.
I learned something today that I didn’t know. I feel more informed and feel confident in my financial literacy.

Nice to Haves: These are things that add value to a Huddle. They are bonuses that would be nice to have each time you Huddle with your team.

Can every player in your game say:

I had fun; I laughed!
I feel included.
I know what everyone else on the team is working on.

However you decide to Huddle, the number one goal is to make sure your team feels like they're part of the conversation. Be careful not to fall into the "open-book reporting" trap. A Huddle is a conversation and it should always be a two-way street.

Learn more Huddling tips, tricks, and best-practices from real Great Game practitioners at the world's largest open-book conference next September.

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