Integrating Continuous Improvement into Team Meetings

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 ... After 26 years at Danaher and P&G, I've discovered it's actually about something else entirely. The best teams focus on 👉 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀, and 👉 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Without business results, continuous improvement is just a "nice" training exercise. Without people development, initial wins will not sustain. In both cases, the team will claim that 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. The best teams focus on 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 business results 𝗮𝗻𝗱 people development. The best team use 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Coaching is the 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀' 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. Here are 5 ways coaching works in continuous improvement (based on my 20+ year coaching experience): 1⃣ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲: Instead of waiting for solutions from above, coaching teaches individuals and teams how to solve problems themselves. 2⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸: Through short, structured coaching conversations (often just 20 minutes), improvement becomes as routine as checking emails. This breaks the firefighting cycle and makes getting "a little bit better than yesterday, every day" part of normal operations. 3⃣ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿: Your role shifts from having all the answers to asking the right questions. You develop others whilst developing yourself. 4⃣ 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀: Through structured questions and guided reflection, people learn to think systematically about problems and solutions, turning every challenge into a learning opportunity. 5⃣ 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆: The coach-learner relationships build culture and capability at all organisational levels. ⚠ Here's the reality: the speed of your continuous improvement is directly constrained by your ability to develop coaching skills in your managers. 👉 Which of these 5 elements resonates most with your experience? What's been your biggest challenge in building a coaching culture? ▶ Please follow me for practical learning about continuous improvement from real life. 📄 Join my free monthly newsletter to help you improve by 1% each day, every day: https://bit.ly/ob-news2 🔔 Turn on notifications, so you don’t miss any posts. 🔁 Please 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 if you agree that CI should focus on both results and people development.

I used to facilitate retros once a month. Then I realized I was the problem. I’d show up. The team would share blockers. We’d identify actions. I’d leave feeling useful. And nothing would change. Because I was teaching them to wait for me. Monthly facilitation created a rhythm: surface issues, capture actions, wait 30 days, repeat. The team got good at retros. They never got good at improving. The real constraints—the approval chains, conflicting metrics, invisible decision rights—lived in the 29 days between sessions. And I wasn’t there. More importantly, I hadn’t taught them how to handle those without me. So I changed what I was teaching: ▪️ Not just how to run a retro, but how to run it themselves. ▪️ Not just capturing actions, but spotting queues, naming dependencies, and knowing what needed system change. ▪️ Not just logging issues, but advocating upward—translating “this sprint sucked” into “here’s the constraint and here’s what we need.” The shift was from facilitator to capability builder. Now when I work with a team, the questions aren’t: Was it a good retro? They’re: ▪️ Can the team run their own improvement conversations when I’m gone? ▪️ Can they distinguish between a team fix and a system constraint? ▪️ Do they know how to escalate what they can’t solve themselves? ▪️ Are they building relationships with the people who control their constraints? Because continuous improvement doesn’t come from monthly check-ins. It comes from teams who can see their system, own their changes, and advocate for what they can’t change alone. My question for other coaches: How do you keep improvement alive in the 29 days between retros?

Winning teams all have one thing in common: They can count on each other. - They keep their word - They meet their timelines - They speak up when they can't The real driver of high-performing teams? - It's not talent - It's not strategy - It's not operations It's mutual accountability. I learned this the hard way. I inherited a nightmare: - A talented team missing every deadline. - Everyone working late nights. - Absolutely zero trust. Then I introduced a two-minute habit: 💡 "Called Shots" The system is deliberately simple: Morning: Public declaration of 3-5 commitments Evening: Public reporting of hits and misses Friday: Team reflection on patterns Why does it work? Because no one wants to fall short in front of their peers. It wasn't individual shame driving us.  It was rewiring the team for shared success. The magic is in the loop: ✅ Clear commitments create focus. ✅ Public results create natural accountability. ✅ Weekly reflection creates continuous improvement. On Fridays, we ask: ✅ Where did I excel? ✅ Where can I improve? ✅ What's my one change for next week? The transformation was dramatic: ✅ Excuses turned into solutions. ✅ Promises became unbreakable. ✅ Team trust skyrocketed. Most importantly: The team owned their growth. 💡 Pro Tip: AI Analysis Boost Want to supercharge your team's learning?  Here's a prompt to analyze your Called Shots data: "Analyze this week's Called Shots data. Focus on: Success patterns in completed tasks Common obstacles in incomplete tasks Team velocity trends Hidden productivity opportunities Suggested process improvements Include specific examples and actionable recommendations." Want to give it a try? Copy and paste the image from this post. Want the exact template we used to track your data? I made it free for subscribers: 💡 https://lnkd.in/eiPgBNB6 Remember: The best systems don't force accountability. They make it a natural ingredient for mutual success. Helpful?  ✅ Follow Dave Kline for more.  ♻️ And repost to help other leaders.

Struggling with endless meetings but seeing little progress? Let's cut through the noise with Real-Time Debriefs—a strategy that revolutionized my team’s productivity. 🕒 Forget about adding to your workload. This method is about leveraging the discussions you’re already having into moments of actionable insight. Quick debriefs post-interaction or meeting keep your team agile and forward-moving. Here's the tactical advantage: ✔Efficiency: Instantly capture and apply insights, eliminating the need for follow-up meetings. ✔Trust & Relationships: Foster a culture of trust with immediate, open feedback. ✔Problem-Solving: Tackle issues promptly, preventing them from escalating. Meeting Load: Dramatically cut down on unnecessary meetings, saving everyone time. This method has been a game-changer for us, respecting time differences and busy schedules, while ensuring our performance and teamwork stay sharp. Try this: After your next project or meeting, engage in a quick debrief. Share and solicit feedback immediately. Watch how it transforms team dynamics and efficiency. Real-Time Debriefs are more than a technique—they're about adopting a mindset of continuous, on-the-spot improvement. Dive in and see the difference it makes. #RealTimeDebrief #ProductivityHack #TeamDynamics #Gladtobehere #Leadership

You don't have to be in a formal leadership position to influence change and improvement. Influence comes from building a shared purpose and anyone can do this! Let's say you’ve spotted a way to make things better, faster, or smoother at work. You know this change could really help, but when you bring it up, the team pushes back or doesn’t seem interested. ⚠️ It’s easy to get frustrated or try harder to win people over. But pushing hard usually backfires. ❗ So instead, shift your focus to shared purpose and cooperation. 👉Let’s take a common example: the weekly team meeting. 👉The problem: you see issues with meetings- they run over, lack focus, and don’t result in clear outcomes. Here's a suggested response to influence improvement... 1️⃣ Ask Questions That Spark Reflection Get your team to reflect on the current meeting process by asking: ❓ “How do you feel about our weekly meetings — are they a good use of our time?” ❓ “What parts of our meetings feel most productive, and what parts feel like a time drain?” ❓ “Do we always leave meetings knowing who’s doing what?” (This will get people thinking...) 2️⃣ Highlight shared goals. Link your idea to something the whole team values: ❓ “I know we all want to have more time for focused work. What if we could cut our meeting time in half and still get everything done?” (Now, the focus isn’t on your idea — it’s on solving a shared problem) 3️⃣ Invite Ideas and Feedback Rather than presenting a fixed solution, co-create it: ❓ "I've made a suggestion but that's just one option- what ideas do you have?” (When the team helps shape the solution, they’re more invested in making it work) 4️⃣ Start Small and Test Together Propose trying a small, low-risk change, taking into account all suggestions: ❓ “How about next week, we try a 30-minute meeting with a strict agenda and clear action points documented? We can see how it feels, adjust if needed, and then try out other ideas?" (Small tests reduce the fear of change and show that you value collaboration) 5️⃣ Celebrate Progress as a Team If the new approach works, recognize the team effort: ❗ “Our meeting was only 30 minutes, and we still got through everything! ❗ “It’s great to see us using our time more effectively. Let’s keep this going.” You could apply these 5 steps to influencing any kind of change or improvement....oh and don't forget to be prepared, use data and work on those communication skills! What do you think? Could you try this to help build your #influence skills? Do you have any tips from your own experience? Leave your comments below 🙏