The Ten Out of Ten Huddle

Performance is influenced most in the small moments at work, not the big ones. Five minutes at the start of a shift, before anyone’s properly switched on, can decide how the whole day goes.

I ask clients a simple question before I work with them: “how often do you run a morning huddle with your team?”

Some say never, some say occasionally. For the ones who do, I ask a second question. “If ten is world-class, what would you score yours?” Most say a four or five.

I know what a four or five sounds like, because I’ve run plenty of them.

“Morning, here’s what yesterday’s figures were, this is what we have to do today. Any issues, come and see me.” Ten seconds, job done, everyone walks off to their desks. Nobody’s spoken except the leader.

I ran one like that most mornings early on as a leader, before I gave it any real thought. It worked, people knew what was expected of them. But it didn’t do much beyond that, and it didn’t stop the same problems showing up week after week either.

What changed was what I started doing with the time I had with them in these huddles. Instead of talking, I started being curious about what was on their mind, and waited for the answer.

Someone would mention a client call later that day that they’d been worried about since the night before. I wouldn’t have known that otherwise. Because I did, I could check in with them before the call rather than after it, when things may have gone wrong.

That’s the part most leaders miss. A four out of ten huddle doesn’t just feel flat, it hides the small things before they eventually grow into bigger ones. The awkward client, the quiet resignation, the mistake nobody highlighted. They get noticed if someone’s given the chance to mention them, and they stay buried if they’re not.

This small change meant people turned up more engaged, small problems got spoken about while they were still small, and there was a more positive feeling in the room once everyone had a chance to speak, not just been spoken at.

It also meant fewer surprises later in the day. The issue you catch at 9am in a huddle costs five minutes. The same issue found at 4pm, after it’s already affected a client, a deadline, or a colleague, costs a lot more than that.

This is one of the only times in the day when a leader genuinely has the full attention of their team, and a well-run huddle earns its place every morning, in the conversation between a leader who asks and a team who feels heard.

Tomorrow morning, try changing one thing. Ask one real question and stay quiet long enough to hear the answer. Make that huddle a ten out of ten.