Are Daily Stand-ups done at the wrong time of day?
We could argue what the most important part of your day and many will say the beginning. I would venture to say that most people is their meditation or some sort of state of reflection, it happens the very first thing in the morning. Even when we go to work, many of us like to take that time to have that first cup of coffee and just reflect and organize our day. I think those are powerful strategies. However, what about at the end of your day or at the end of a work day? Do we reflect on our accomplishments? And how we empowered others throughout the day?
In one of my favorite books, I have read it twice now and listened to at least that many times, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work suggest as a starting point for daily journaling that you ask the following questions at the end of the day:
- What event stands out in my mind from the workday and how did it affect my inner work life?
- What progress did I make today and how did it affect my inner work life?
- What nourishers and catalyst supported me and my work today? How can I sustain them tomorrow?
- What one thing can I do to make progress on important work tomorrow?
- What setbacks did I have today, and how did they affect my inner work life?
- What toxins and inhibitors impacted me and my work today? How can I weaken or avoid them?
- Did I affect my colleagues’ inner work lives positively? How might I do so tomorrow?
I discuss reflection and presencing a great deal in the Cap-Do Process and feel like it is an important trait to develop. We also learn in most project management outlines that we should have a “Lesson Learn” or close-out on every project, which we seldom do. There is a lot of power in this type of reflection for an individual, would it not transfer to a team?
As I was reviewing this tonight, I wondered should our daily stand-ups be done at the end of the day? If we did, would our preparation for the next day be more focused? Would I leave work with a better disconnect and enjoy my evening better?
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