This month we feature Beth Sander’s 7 Tips for Generative Check-Ins, as a cross posting of her Nest City blog. Here, Beth, a teacher-practitioner and past board member of The Circle Way, offers thoughtful depth to the conversation on hosting check-ins.
7 Tips for Generative Check Ins
The generative quality of a check in can be eroded when the holding space we create for ourselves is weakened or collapsed. Two things do this: fear of empty space and discomfort in listening. Below are 7 tips to amplify the generative quality of a check in. (Of course, these 2 things affect more than a check in, but this post looks specifically at the dynamics of a check in in both face to face and online space.)
Two things erode the generative quality of a check in -- fear of empty space and discomfort in listening.
So, there are the situations when we meet and leave; this is business as usual. Then there are the meetings where we start with a check in, often in the form of a question, to bring a little more of ourselves into the meeting and tune ourselves into the meeting and its purpose. Some sample check in questions: 'How are you arriving today?'; 'What did you say yes to?'; 'What is your inner weather?'; 'What do we need to pay attention to today?'. In this space at the beginning of our meeting we pause to fully arrive and focus.
When a meeting starts with a check in the rest of the meeting has a more purposeful quality for three reasons:
- We each have a chance to leave behind what doesn't belong in the meeting (like the last meeting or whatever else we were just doing)
- We each, and together, tune in to the purpose of the meeting just starting and how we are showing up
- What happens in a check in shapes and informs everything that follows
A check in can be small and quick or big and long. Either way it is a significant step that helps us be our best selves -- as individuals and as a group. By its very nature, a check in is generative because it helps us be more focused and productive. The quality of the check in affects the degree of generativity that emerges from the check in and the meeting that follows. It is a sense of energy that comes from our intertwining with each other and little steps to being whole together. The results show up in how we feel (connected or disconnected), what we do (we can get more done with this focus), how we do it (we are more wise) and why we do it (we have a stronger shared sense of why, even if vague).
By its very nature, a check in is generative because it helps us be more focused and productive. The quality of the check in affects the degree of generativity.
In face-to-face situations, a check in will start with one person, moving along around the circle (or table or room). In one online world I find myself in, our host is worried about the time it takes for us each to check in, so he jumps in and tells us at random who's turn it is, to avoid the empty space in between us. The objective of hearing each voice before we start is met, yet the removal of the 'empty' space diminishes our generativity. The reason why is simple: the space among us allows us to energetically notice when it is time to speak. It may be something someone has just said and I feel a resonance upon which to speak my words, and when I do I amplify our collective voice. It might be a word or image that resonates, or a whole story. The point is the resonance. I may have something different to say and respond to an energetic impulse to put new words in; this, too, amplifies our collective field and voice.
Tip #1: Let the space linger and trust that there is intelligence in that space; resist the urge to fill it. This compels us to slow down and hear what is happening in self and others and the whole. (This needs our attention in face-to-face and online environments.)
Tip #2 (for online space): Make the order of speakers clear ahead of time, enabling participants to see the order of things as they would if they were together in person. This can be a circulated list, or asking participants to organize themselves in alphabetical order starting with the first speaker, or moving from west to east.
In both face-to-face and online worlds, the power of a check in is often diminished with interruptions and reactions from the host or other participants. In one instance, I experience a host who reacts to many of the participants' comments during the check in. Not only does this interrupt the field that is being generated by the check in, among all participants and the host, it shifts the attention from the whole -- the community that is gathered -- to the participant and host. It is an energetic wobble and while not likely to destroy the community, it diminishes the quality of generativity.
In other cases, I often hear hosts and participants verbally reacting to something that is being said, to chime in in agreement, or throw a joke in, or comment or question. This does two things: it erodes speaker's voice and the quality of the collective field is dissipated. A check in allows each voice to be heard and also enables the voice of the whole to be heard. At a minimum, it is a space for us to practice hearing ourselves (self and selves). If I insert myself into this process, as either a host or participant, I diminish the quality of generativity.
Tip #3: Let the words of each speaker linger, without interruption or reaction. All participants and hosts have a role to play to embody this practice of deep listening, and remind others as needed.
From time to time, a check in takes a long time, when there is something that needs the group's significant attention. Again, hearing the voices and experiences of each other is essential to discern of our way forward. In a recent three-hour check in the challenge was sitting and sitting and sitting to listen to each other and some emotionally heavy material. We took breaks to stretch each time we were a quarter of the way around the circle, but at the last break, with a quarter of our group yet to speak, many of the people who had already spoken released the field: they were chatting and visiting and having fun. Energetically, the last speakers had a diminished field to hold both them and their words. The result: the field was weakened and the last speaker’s words were not held as well as they could have been.
Tip #4: If it's taking a long time, sit and sit and sit in it. This is hard work to do and it is necessary. The first speakers have a responsibility to hold the last speakers. Cultivate your capacity to sit and listen. Take breaks as needed and be mindful that the purpose of the break is to allow us to stretch and move and refocus, not break the field.
Tip #5: If time matters, let participants know how much time they have. It's ok to limit the time a check in takes. If you think you have 30 minutes and 30 speakers, make it one minute each; if you have 90 minutes, make it 3 minutes each. With everyone's agreement, a timekeeper is appropriate. (One client had a huge cowbell to ring if people reached their time limit. It didn't ring.)
Tip #6: Use a guardian to create and make appropriate pauses. There are times during a check in when a pause makes good energetic sense. For example, a guardian can ring a bell to mark significant words, both to acknowledge the speaker's words and to make space for the next speaker. Distinct from an interruption, this is a response to the words spoken from the place of the circle's energy, not from anyone's need to react (not an interruption). Note: the guardian can also let the group know how much time is ticking by, if on schedule or not. This enables the group to make decisions about how to use their time.
In the example above where an online host randomly names people in the check in, the purpose is order and efficiency. There may be times when this is appropriate, but that depends on the purpose of the check in. If the purpose is to generate interconnections between people, apply the tips above. Knowing the purpose helps determine the right kind of 'order' to impose. Other forms of order allow a greater degree of generativity: if the space is uncomfortable, offer an explicit order of speakers; resist the urge to interject comments (aside from diminishing the field, this also lengthens the check in time) and let the words linger; let people know how much time people have and let them know when there time is up; use a guardian to let people know how much time is ticking by.
Tip #7: Be clear on the purpose of the check in. Is a quick round to see how people are doing in that moment sufficient? Is it a longer round to hear how they are doing and what they think we need to do today? Is it an even longer round to allow reflection on significant events? A different question to ponder: is it unrelated to the rest of the meeting, or can it feed the rest of the meeting?
This is what I notice in any part of a conversation: when we fear empty space, we long to fill it; and when we are uncomfortable listening, we long to insert our voice over the other. The tips above seem to help amplify the generative listening space -- for both self, other and the group gathered -- in any part of a conversation, at the beginning, the middle or the end.
Beth Sanders, MCP RPP, City Strategist, City Systems Meshworker: Beth Sanders is a fourth-generation settler in Treaty 6 territory, based in Edmonton, Canada. She is a writer, urbanist, and consulting city planner who works with citizens, community organizations, public institutions and the business community who strive for cities that serve citizens well. Beth is President of POPULUS Community Planning Inc., where she supports cities and citizens who are responding to the evolutionary impulse to improve their physical, social and economic habitats—their nest.