The more you ask if they're okay, the more your team member says they are.

On the first day back after the holiday, a team member's expression keeps bothering a leader, who reaches out.

Scenes

The more you ask if they're okay, the more your team member says they are. — It's 9:20 a.m. on the first day back after the holiday. You stop by your team member's monitor and find yourself asking first if they're okay.
You look back at that expression even after turning away — The team member says they're okay, but the leader looks back again while turning away. Wanting to care, they become more careful with their words, afraid of seeming nosy.
The longer the explanation gets, the more their hand stills — When the team member says they're okay, the leader explains today's work one more time. As the explanation goes on, the team member's hand stops over the mouse.
Ask where they're stuck, not how they're doing — “Are you okay?” can easily sound like being asked to sort out your feelings and report back. In leadership, the conversation moves when you pinpoint where in the work they're stuck, rather than asking how they are.
Write down just one sentence to ask tomorrow — Tomorrow, write down one sentence asking where they're most stuck right now. Even if silence comes before an answer, wait a moment instead of explaining right away.
Don't try to correct them when they say they're okay — If they still say they're okay, you don't have to correct them. Baekho then looks at one part of the work with them and listens first for where they stopped.