Do you want to know the most important thing a team leader can do? Weekly check-ins.

Leadership is about directing and knowing better.. wrong

As an executive within a large corporate, my first significant team leadership role taught me a lot about how not to lead.

I thought I had to be the smartest person in the room.

📅 Monthly team meetings

When I started leading, the first action I took was to set up a monthly team meeting.

With all the best intentions, I thought it was imperative to have a platform to get everyone together, share updates and give direction to the team.

It was a session where I preached to the team but I always struggled to get engagement. The resulting feedback was not positive.

🤯 Learning from the book Radical Candor

Early on in my leadership journey, I picked up the amazing book Radical Candor by Kim Scott.

Kim explains the criticality of regular weekly one-on-ones with your team. A session where they set the agenda, and you can spend time addressing their individual issues.

It dawned on me that I was doing it all wrong…

🤝 Individual weekly touch points

I set up 30-minutes per week with each of my direct reports.

This was a game-changer. It quickly turned into the most valuable time I spent every week. Live updates, coaching and supporting the team with the issues they faced.

It also connected me more deeply with what was going on in the business.

While team leaders who check in once a week see, on average, a 13% increase in team engagement, those who check in only once a month see a 5% decrease in engagement.

Nine Lies About Work by Marcus Buckingham & Ashley Goodall

🔓 Leaders are there to serve their teams

An uncommon vision, but one I ascribe to is that I am there to work for my team.

• Coaching
• Unblocking issues
• Clarifying strategy
• Re-affirming their decisions / or direction
• Relaying information & Communicating

Weekly touchpoints are one way to achieve this and also to make your team feel engaged, empowered and listened to.

This mindset will help you gain outsized impact. The combined knowledge of your team properly cultivated will far outstrip your own.