Huddle up...

Most times of the year in Michigan - huddling up  is usually  a means of staying warm. In a business setting however, that might pose an HR issue so huddle up, but not in the traditional sense.  Using a daily face to face huddle can be an effective way to stay in contact with your team, monitor progress, call and analyze plays, and keep the ball moving forward, Huddles can be 10 minutes or 30 minutes, the point is to keep them brief, but meaningful.

The huddle should be more than just task management, it should also be an opportunity to brainstorm, reward, and collaborate.  They need not be limited to your own immediate team either.  I've used a combination of weekly, bi-weekly, even monthly huddles with executives and other directors to keep a finger on the pulse of the rest of the organization and their priorities.  

Have some fun with your huddles - give them code names, have everyone stand up instead of sitting down, go outside (weather permitting of course), have guests join from time to time - mix it up. One of my peers and I called our weekly huddles our PIAG (poop in a group).  Agendas are optional, but when you are first starting it may be helpful to build a brief simple agenda until the rest of the huddlers get the rhythm. 

5 tips for effective huddles:

1. Set a time and stick to it
   
2. Know what your goal is to be effective
   
3. Be brief 
   
4. Manage tangents
5. Keep track of requests, ideas, action items to stay on track

---