The daily check-in: why five minutes can save you hours
Posted 16th July 2026
How do you stop small problems becoming big ones?
For us, the answer is simple: start every day with alignment.
Patrick Lencioni describes the daily check-in as the "what's for dinner?" meeting – a short, tactical conversation focused entirely on logistics. It's not about strategy or problem-solving. It's about making sure everyone knows what's happening before the day begins.
Across our schools and college, we call this Run the Day. Lasting no more than five to ten minutes, these stand-up meetings help teams quickly cover the essentials:
- Who's in and who's out?
- What cover is needed?
- Are there any important visitors or events?
- What are today's priorities before the first lesson or Morning Meeting?
Keeping the agenda focused means practical issues are resolved in minutes rather than interrupting the rest of the day. Everyone leaves with a shared understanding of what's ahead, creating clarity from the very start.
At trust level, our rhythm is slightly different. Rather than meeting daily, we begin each week with a Monday check-in. It serves the same purpose: reconnecting after the weekend, sharing what's emerging and setting the tone for the week ahead.
These meetings aren't designed to solve every problem. They're designed to surface them early, ensuring teams stay aligned and preventing small issues from growing into larger ones.
Sometimes the simplest routines have the biggest impact.
Watch episode two here to see how we use daily check-ins to create clarity and keep our teams connected.