You can’t know the effect that a negative news – a lay-off, a missed goal, a demotion, a change in responsibilities – will have on the team you are leading.
But you can, and you should, create the space for people to talk about it. Both among themselves and with management.
Going back to work as if nothing had happened is forceful.
Sometimes we make decisions that have a negative impact on our community, on the people around us, on the group.
We might break a rule, or demote someone, or take a controversial stance on a shared opinion.
And when we do that, it looks like the immediate need is to degrade the object of our decision.
The rule is stupid, the person is incompetent, the shared opinion is naive.
We end up creating friction and eventually the fracture is inevitable.
We could instead own the decision. Be straightforward about it. Acknowledge that perhaps, this time, we might be seen as the bad guy, and still we believe we are doing something that make sense for the purpose we want to achieve.
It is a better way to frame what’s happening, one that goes beyond a false sense of righteousness that we too often use to shield our own responsibilities.
Not every story needs a villain.
Give people goals that:
It does not end here, but this is a fantastic place to start from when managing a team.
Approach every conversation with intention and clarity.
You might be in it because you need something: advice, listening, a hug?
You might be in it because something is needed of you.
One way or the other, making the need explicit increases the chances of actually having a successful conversation.
The alternative is to assume that something has happened when in fact it never did. We had a fantastic chat and we are perfectly aligned now. Except you are not.
Most often, you do not have the time to figure it out. So, ask instead.
Organizations are perfect sets for dramas.
The problem is that drama is a great way to keep people busy and a poor way to keep people engaged, motivated, creative, purposeful.
While everyone is waiting for the next big reveal, no one will commit to a new idea.
While everyone is betting on which of the two executives will win the next argument, no one is listening to what customers are saying or grasping the emerging trend in the market.
While everyone is invested in wowing their managers, no one will buy into the vision and values that would make employees, shareholders, customers, and community better off.
That feeling of overwhelm, of tiredness, of pointlessness is not due to the job. It’s due to drama.
When you get rid of the spaces where drama flourishes – the hidden information, the decisions behind closed doors, the selected circles, the executive approvals, the vertical silos -, you can repurpose the resources to allow your people and your business to grow.
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