What is a check in?

A check in is a quick snapshot to start every meeting which informs you about people’s current emotional state. It may consist of asking people to share one emotion which reflects how they feel, to rate their current mood on a scale of 1-5 (where 5=great) or to select a picture or quote which resonates most with them. Brené Brown, whose TED talks have been viewed by millions, starts each meeting by asking her team to share a two word emotion check in.

Why should I use a check in with my team?

While check ins are valuable for in-person meetings, they are even more important for virtual meetings, as working from home means there’s no informal, between-meeting interaction to gauge how people feel. It’s also much harder to pick up on the subtleties of body language during a virtual meeting. Check ins allow leader to take the emotional pulse of each team member, and they foster an inclusive environment where everyone has the chance to share and feel valued. Research shows that identifying and naming uncomfortable emotions is a powerful strategy to immediately shift into the rational part of your brain. As such, it’s a great idea to acknowledge and name emotions, as then all team members are in a more rational frame of mind and more able to engage with the meeting content. With everything that’s happening right now, emotions are running high. Check ins are a great way to acknowledge the importance of those feelings without the emotional mood derailing business conversations.

How can people share their check ins?

Virtual meetings offer a range of options for sharing check ins. The team can use the chat function to share their check in with everyone or just with their team lead. There’s also the option to verbally share a check in, one team member at a time. Meeting platforms with a polling function provide another way of sharing check ins. Whatever the method, it should be quick and easy, and everyone in the team needs to feel safe and comfortable enough to be honest about the way they feel.

Keen to know more?

If you’d like to find out more about quick and effective check ins to increase your emotionally intelligent approach to leading your team, please get in touch. I offer coaching and training sessions which focus solely on check ins, or longer, more in-depth sessions, where check ins are an integral part of emotional intelligence training.