One of my favorite times of each week is when coworkers share their weekly Highs and Lows with me. It’s a pretty simple ritual: I send out an email to all of the Marketing Ideas For Printers coworkers on Friday morning sharing one of the high points of the week, and a low point. I then ask the coworkers to do the same and share their highs and lows with me.

The topics could be anything! The topics are often work-related, but they don’t have to be. In fact, it’s often the personal stuff that provides the greatest insight into each team member’s “mental energy” for the week.

Send Publicly, Receive Privately

My highs and lows go out publicly for everyone on the team to see, but the replies from my team come back privately to me. This, of course, helps encourage more open and honest feedback from the team. I also make a habit of including at least one additional “High” … I want to make sure that “High” always wins in the battle of High and Low!

Don’t Forget to Add This

There’s one more important step to do to make the most out of this weekly ritual. When I get the Highs and Lows back from each team member, I print them out and respond by writing short, personal notes on their Highs and Lows report. The notes are the confirmation that I did, indeed, take the time to read their Highs and Lows report. This simple action helps show everyone one the team that I’m listening and I care about what’s going on in their life, and gives me the perfect opportunity to offer encouragement when appropriate.

Keep in mind that everyone communicates differently, so this idea may not be a perfect fit for everyone on the team. I expect everyone to participate, but I also know that this may not be the preferred source of feedback for everyone. I can say, however, that I’ve learned many small things about individual team members along the way that have allowed me to connect with the team on a much more meaningful level!