Check-ins are an approach to encourage each person in a meeting to speak to their peers. One by one, group members respond to a selected question or prompt. Prompts are chosen to elicit who participants are, how they feel or what they think about an almost limitless range of work-related and personal concerns. Leaders use check-ins deliberately to further a group’s development and ultimately, to enable it to perform at the highest level.

What

The check-in is a simple, deceptively powerful tool for collaboration that encourages each person in a group to speak. Check-ins prime the behaviors that make collaboration possible.

Why

Check-ins urge groups toward higher performance. On the way, they help people sharpen their focus, create greater psychological safety, build stronger relationships, and increase commitment to their work.

When

If your group has to accomplish anything—regardless of whether it meets regularly or gathers for a single meeting, whether members know one another well or just met—check-ins can help.

How

Selecting appropriate check-in questions is both science and art. Your job is to select a question that both explicitly and implicitly urges your group in the direction it needs to travel.

Bill
Spokane Valley, WA, United States
One of my favorite books is Braiding Sweetgrass.
Patrizia
Vienna, Austria
An expression I like is “energy flows where attention goes.”
Felix
Vienna, Austria
Something that gives me hope is “am ende wird alles gut; und wenn’s nicht gut ist, ist’s noch nciht das ende (“everything will be ok in the end; if it’s not ok, it’s not the end”).”
Jennifer
Philadelphia, PA, United States
The music I love the most right now is show tunes.
Tanya
Calgary, Canada
I like where I live because of the kindness and compassion of friends, family and neighbors.
Sharyn
Clarksville, TN, United States
I take comfort in my dog.
Abby
Wellington, New Zealand
I like where I live because it’s near the sea.
Michelle
Montgomery Village, MD, United States
Some things that give me hope are spring flowers and warmer weather.
Kasinath
Delhi, India
The music I love the most right now are Ilaiyaraaja’s Tamil songs.
Álvaro
Mexico City, Mexico
Something I do for fun is play chess.
Abdullah
Sana'a, Yemen
Something that gives me hope is my desire to learn.
HaJo
Tbilisi, Georgia
One of my favorite books is Mitternachtskinder (Midnight’s Children).
Jeff
Jakarta, Indonesia
I take comfort in ice cream.
Barbara
Milano, Italy
One of my favorite books is The Soul’s Code by James Hillman.
Mitzi
Camberwell, United Kingdom
One of my favorite books is Time to Think by Nancy Kline.
Angela
Melbourne, Australia
I take comfort in nature.
Paul
Memphis, TN, United States
One of my heroes is Lincoln.
Anne
Overijse, Belgium
An expression I like is “What’s the difference that will make the difference?”
Laurel
Daylesford, Australia
One of my favorite books is Sand Talk by Tyson Yunkaporta.
Marian
Berkeley, CA, United States
One of my favorite books is Song of Solomon.
Erin
Cleveland, OH, United States
On TV I like to watch Outlander.
Drew
Atlanta, GA, United States
One of my favorite books is A Suitable Boy.
Alexey
Kyiv, Ukraine
One of my favorite books is Miller.
Katrijn
Antwerp, Belgium
An expression I like is “don’t count the days, make the days count.”
Scott
Silver Spring, MD, United States
One of my favorite books is A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Eric
Post Falls, ID, United States
I take comfort in Jesus.
Rachel
Port Townsend, WA, United States
An expression I like is “WTF.”
Randy
Scottsdale, AZ, United States
I like where I live because it is warm and sunny with lots of outdoor opportunities.
Grainne
Limerick, Ireland
Something I do for fun is bingo.
Corina
Ottawa, Canada
Something that gives me hope is good meeting practices!

Your Check-Ins

Richard Cohen
GREAT POND RESOLUTIONS
We all want to get things done in our meetings. Check-ins encourage people to build the kind of relationships that enable them to get things done better: more efficiently, more effectively, and more enjoyably.