Walk the talk update
Walking the talk – update
Last month I asked you to let me know how you ensure you are not only talking the talk but walking the walk. So many of us read books, go on courses and, along the way, pick up great tips for upgrading our leadership. But whilst we might talk a good game, actually incorporating these tools and skills in to our daily lives is more tricky.
Sharon, an HR Director from West London, wrote “I limit myself to three training courses a year. Although colleague may go on more, I feel to fully utilise the course content, three courses is more than enough!”
Micheal, a businessman from New York, wrote “My team are great at giving me constructive feedback. I tell them when I am working on a particular skill and request that they pull me up if I fall in to old habits. Of course, it works both ways so I get my own back when they get back from a training course!”
Len, a site director from Newcastle upon Tyne, wrote “Whenever possible the team attend the same training at the same time. That means we are all aware of what we need to work on and support each other in actioning that. As a team we agree when we are ready to go on another course – and we only do so when we feel we have incorporated the lessons from the last one.”
Thank you everyone for your ideas!
Disruptive teams
In these newsletters I often talk about the importance of shared team values, highly developed emotional intelligence and having the right attitude. Why are these important?
Well, generally a workplace where people get on well, are able to explain themselves and be understood and where everyone approaches their work with a sense of commitment is likely to boast high staff retention, staff loyalty and hard work leading to better outcomes for the organisation.
But is there a place for teams that do not work well together? Disruptive teams, as I will refer to them, can create some pretty powerful results when used in the right circumstances.
What is a disruptive team?
By disruptive team I do not mean a team full of misfits, no-hopers and problem employees. As individuals the members of a disruptive team are great value. They are your high-flyers, your hard workers and your committed fast-trackers. But when they are brought together, sparks fly.
This could be because they come from very different parts of the business and bring their conflicting priorities and perspectives to the table.
It could be because they have diverse working styles, some preferring a quieter, more introvert approach, others an outgoing extrovert method.
It could be because they work at different levels – the top tier, the bottom tier and everything in between.
It could even be because they have had conflicts and run-ins in the past.
Why would you want to create a disruptive team?
For a long term project or permanent unit a disruptive team may not be suitable. Harmony is more sustainable over time.
But as a creative force, disruptive teams can offer something that harmonious teams cannot. When a fresh approach, dynamic ideas, risky, big innovations or brutal honesty are called for, disruptive teams can perform much more effectively than harmonious teams.
- Just imagine if Louise from the front desk got the chance to debate on an equal footing with Howard from the board about how the company's brand on TV conflicted with the way visitors to the site were actually treated when they entered the building?
- Or how about if Bob from Sales and Marketing was able to work alongside Jeff from Product Development right at the brainstorming stage rather than trying to figure out how to sell whatever wacky idea Jeff comes up with once the organisation is already committed to production?
- What would happen if sworn rivals Sandy and Maggie had to co-create a set of company-wide standards for communicating with colleagues?
How do you stop people killing each other?
For a disruptive team to work a clear set of agreed ground rules must be created. Members of the team must unanimously sign up to these and breach of the rules must be dealt with, also through an agreed process.
Members of disruptive teams must be fully aware of what they are entering into and do so with complete freedom of choice. Declining must not be held against them at bonus or promotion time.
The scope of the disruptive team must also be defined at the start. Members should know how long they are going to be working in this way. Their view about how long is realistic should be taken in to account.
The team must be disbanded at the specified time. This is partly to honour the commitment made at the start but also because after a while disruptive teams either become so dysfunctional that the benefit is lost or they start to become more harmonious and bonded…with the same effect.
As a creative vehicle the disruptive team can be a powerful weapon and, if safety measures are put in place, can result in original, imaginative and transformational ideas.
