Checking In
If you want to understand the mental well-being of colleagues and staff build the check-in into your organisation’s culture
By Jane Bytheway
I came across two brief videos recently that are timely reminders of the value and importance of the check-in.
Anyone who has worked with Oasis will undoubtedly have been introduced to the Check-in. It is an opportunity for everyone to say how they are feeling and what’s on their mind as they come together to work – whether on a project, a training and development programme, a workshop or a one-to-one coaching session, for example.
The check-in allows everyone’s voice to be heard as they come together. It enables people to “land” and bring their focus into the shared space, letting go of whatever they were previously thinking about or working on. It helps us to be present to what’s now, or to share honestly when we are still mentally tied up somewhere else. Just saying it out loud can help to loosen the knot and open us up to greater presence.
The check-in also brings the focus to relationship before task, creating a space where people can share how they are really feeling. When the check-in becomes part of an organisation’s culture it takes us beyond “How are you?” (where the reflex response is often “Fine”) and into the territory of “How are you really?” by creating time and space to be heard. More on this in another post, Time to Talk Time to Listen
For a manager this can provide a vital opportunity to spot signs of stress in their team, which means that support and help can be offered before the stress escalates to the point where a team member says, “I’m not well and I need time off now.”
Here are the clips if you’d like to take a look at what two McKinsey leaders learned from their experiences of managing others – and why a check-in is so valuable … not to say, essential.
Gayatri Shenai reflects on how she “failed to catch the thread of a mental health challenge” in one of her team (3.02 mins)
First time leader Liz Hilton Segel recognises the opportunity she missed to see her colleague’s state of mind before he stepped back from a project (2.34 mins)
“How are you really?”
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