Dismantling White Supremacy Culture Resource of the Month

Rev. David Pyle, Regional Lead

The Unitarian Universalist Association and the MidAmerica Region work with a management and staffing training organization that is highly Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) informed called The Management Center. Their training and resources provide a shared language and template for how we build positive, equitable, and just working relationships at the UUA. When congregational leaders and ministers are looking for resources and tools for effective supervision and management, as well as systems for how to be a good employer, The Management Center is our most common recommendation.

One of the resources from The Management Center that we use the most in the MidAmerica Staff is the concept of the “Check-in”. It is a structured way to do regular meetings between staff members and managers that allows the staff member to co-create the agenda, to have both staff member and manager prepare for the check-in, to use time wisely, to ask good questions and to make sure that the next steps are clear. And it creates a record of how a manager is supporting a staff member to succeed.

One of the things I most love about using the Check-in format from The Management Center is that it builds accountability into the check-in relationship. It also gives the staff members the ability to shape the agenda for their conversations with a manager. And, as a manager, I find it requires me to remain focused on what is most important to the staff members to allow them to have what they need to succeed.

Check out the articles on how to use the “check-in” format, as well as a template agenda for a check-in conversation, as well as peruse all the other resources for creating a just and equitable workplace offered by The Management Center.