In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, the need for vulnerability-based trust is considered foundational for any team to be successful. When this trust is developed, we can have healthy conflict. Once healthy conflict occurs, even when there’s disagreement, team members are more likely to show commitment to group decisions. Then, because … Read more
Are individual team members slow to execute tasks which they may not be in agreement with? Does the team lack passion for their goals? If so, there may be an issue with commitment. In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, the need for vulnerability-based trust is considered foundational for any team to … Read more
When you hear “conflict,” do you a) think of healthy and open conversations around ideas, issues, and concepts? or b) recall disputes between and about people? Do you have a) interesting meetings where big tactical and strategic issues get disagreed about, but resolved? or b) meetings loaded with artificial harmony, followed by “meetings after the meeting”? If … Read more
Do you have “meetings after the meetings?” Can you see people holding back their true thoughts the first time around? Would you face resistance if you asked people to be open and vulnerable with one another? In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, the need for vulnerability-based trust is considered foundational for any team … Read more
I hit “send” on an email, and immediately regretted it. It was to a friend and colleague. We had a touchy business situation going on, and I realized that I was way too cold and formal in the email, and she was likely to misinterpret it and/or be offended. Below is how I handled the … Read more
I confess to a pet peeve – I cringe when people say some version of this: “If you’re just going to complain, you’d better have a solution. Otherwise you’re wasting my time.” If you say this, you may be ignoring the fact that there are two kinds of naysayers: Type 1: The ones who never … Read more
In previous posts about the Four Levels of Maturity, we’ve explored the notion that Level 2 (Independent) is the most dangerous. At Level 2, people are generally: correct justified able to blame problems on others technically in compliance with standards and rules This is a dangerous place for a team member to be, because they’re … Read more
Sometimes when leaders are urged to be more “clear” and “direct” with people, they make a clumsy attempt to do so, and end up accidentally being “brutal”. Brutality leads to shame, and diminished engagement. Directness leads to clarity, and improved relationships because of less guesswork and more actual work. Four habits to help you avoid crossing the line … Read more
Aren’t excuses so predictable? You almost hold back from asking “Hey, Bill, have you got your TPS report ready?” because you know you’ll hear “I would, but I’m still waiting for Hillary to get the cover page ready.” If you know you’re going to hear an excuse about someone else not delivering, why not head it off at the … Read more
Good leaders never use shame or public demeaning as a leadership tool. Discomfort, yes. New situations, a bit of a comfort zone stretch, some natural consequences to actions, sure. But shame – to make someone feel guilty as a motivator to change – will only hurt relationships, make observers wary, and send the message that such tactics are okay … Read more