How to Quickly Find Out Where Your Team Stands

In a coaching session last week, a leader was frustrated about having to say the same thing over and over to their team. They felt like they were giving a pep talk at every week's meeting and it was becoming exhausting.

Through our coaching, it became apparent that this leader didn't have a full grasp on how the team actually perceived the goals set upon them.

I suggested that this leader do something different at their next team meeting.

Rather than the normal "What do you think?" question that results in awkward silence, I suggested they have their team of five go around and rate, on a scale of 1-10, how ready they felt to go after the goals this leader had just articulated.

In just five minutes, this exercise will obtain so much more information for the leader than they normally get with the “What does everyone think?” question. And, it would encourage the quieter teammates to articulate their valuable thoughts.

The hard part for this leader is that this exercise represents a change from how they typically lead meetings. So they will have to harness both the courage and the humility to try something new at a regular team forum. 

This leader can try saying something like: 

"Ok, so as you heard, I just laid out our Q2 goals. And you've heard me push goals many times before. This time, I want to try something a little different. 

I'd love to hear from each of you about your thoughts on what I described. Please be honest, as that will help the team the most.

A ten means you're completely on board and you feel like you could have been the one talking just now. A one means you feel at odds with these goals or just don't fully understand them.   

Let's make this a quick lightning round. We'll hear your number and one sentence explaining why. Then, we can ask questions or dig into conversation until we hear from everyone. So-and-so, would you mind kicking us off?"

This simple structure will allow each team member to describe their true level of alignment, giving the leader a much more accurate grasp of the team’s alignment level. Rather than getting silence or tentative nods, the leader now has information to engage the team and continue building alignment around the team’s goals. This is psychological safety in action.