Huddles: What to do

7 Tips for an effective Huddle

1. Have a goal. In fact, write out the goal. It should be so clear and complete that someone else could use it to set up and lead your meeting.
2. Prepare an agenda. This should be a complete description of what people will do to accomplish your goal (instead of a list of words that everyone will interpret differently).
3. Keep it short. You want to encourage and equip your team, not hold them hostage.  Start on time and keep your meetings on task.
4. Involve everyone. Your team members have unique gifts and abilities that can move the ministry forward.  Invite your team to become part of the process.
5. Avoid Negative talk. It creates a negative impression. Don’t ignore problems, but don’t allow the bad to outweigh the good.  Nobody wants to serve on a losing team.
6. Record what happens. Prepare handouts and write key ideas on a chart pad or white board.
7. Follow Up.  Prepare a written piece of communication that clearly details what was covered and underscores delegated tasks.

5 Principles to build a winning team

1. Everyone has valuable ideas. When you lead a huddle, your job is to maximize the contributions from all the participants.
2. Respect motivates people. An environment of respect helps people work at their best. They become more creative, candid, and productive.
3. Win-win cultures produce more. People achieve more when they work as a team for common good.
4. Everyone is a leader. Everyone shares responsibility for the success of a team.
5. Emphasize the process. People will support (or at least accept) a result that they all helped obtain.