Originally published as Team Dynamics: When Smart People Act Stupid In Business, January 24, 2017 in Young, Fabulous and Self Employed (YFS). By Jon Isaacson Intelligence does not always translate into savvy — especially when it relates to interpersonal dynamics within a team. As a leader or manager (or whatever crafty title you’ve come up with to make corralling employees sound less bureaucratic), understanding and succeeding with humans will always be an evolving process. Too often, smart people act in very stupid ways when dealing with others. As noted in his book, Organizational Physics: The Science of Growing a Business, Lex Sisney outlines that the principles of “survival of the fittest” (a phrase that originated from Darwinian theory) was not about being the strongest or the smartest, but about being the best able to adapt to a given environment. Adaptation at its most primal level is about survival. We observe in nature and in business that it is not always the smartest or strongest or the fittest for the role that rise to the highest levels of leadership. There is no executive level leader who has not risen in the ranks without earning it in some way. We may disagree with their qualifications, but someone at some level who had authority found them fit for the role. If you live your life frustrated by who is in power you will always be in turmoil. To rail against the system in a manner that changes nothing and only makes you bitter is a recipe for an aneurysm. If you don’t understand by now, power is not about being the strongest, smartest or even the most qualified. If you think this – for as smart as you are, you sure are stupid. Power dynamics in business Continuing with the things observed in nature that apply to business, let’s move from the macro observations of power dynamics into the individual level of dealing with those people in your immediate sphere of influence. If you know someone that you consistently butt heads with and find yourself frustrated with how they interpret and act upon conversations, you must understand that a leopard doesn’t change its spots. Often the schism is related to communication which requires listening, interpretation and implementation. One’s ability to understand is impacted by perspective and it is a statistical improbability that any two persons share 100% perspective alignment so there will always be a level of variance between how two people interpret a situation or conversation. You will not wake up tomorrow and somehow make a 180 degree turn in how you see the world; so don’t expect others to either. Most interpersonal friction is related to an expectation that the other party can see things in the same way and will arrive at the same conclusion. If you expect this – for as smart as you are, you sure are stupid. So, what do we do then? Are you giving away your power?First, understand that you are a leopard and that everyone else is a leopard as well. A leopard will not change it’s spots. At a base level individuals are not going to drastically change from who they are, how they see the world and how they respond to their environment. Understanding yourself as a leopard and those you interact with as leopards will not solve your conflicts, but it will at least provide some perspective on the expectations you place on those relationships. Secondly, survival requires adaptation. If you are in a truly toxic environment the smartest thing to do is to find a new environment. If you are in an environment that has it’s ups and downs, but overall is an area that you feel you can make a positive impact in, then you will need to learn to adapt. Learning the language, culture and dynamics of your chosen environment is essential to your ability to thrive in any situation. No one takes your power, no one can squeeze the life out of you, you choose how you allow people and situations to impact you. Confidently be your leopard self, stop being so functionally stupid and start adapting to your environment. Thirdly, there is value in utilizing some of the many frameworks available for understanding and gaining perspective on those around you. Whether you are experiencing conflict within your team or not, investing in personality profiles and related tools can help create pathways for common language in working together. As mentioned above, in Organizational Physics, Lex Sisney proposes that people are producers, stabilizers, innovators and/or unifiers (PSIU). Understanding where your leopard lines up in the characteristics of PSIU will help you better recognize your motivations, needs and sources of conflict as well as those characteristics in others. There is no simple fix to human interactions, leopards have been roaring, clawing and biting other leopards for ages. If you aren’t doing something intentional to better the situation – for as smart as you are, you sure are stupid.
0 Comments
I could wish that I was cool enough to discover thoughtful gems such as this video by myself. I have Portland State University to thank for bringing me into contact with something that I viewed as a means to an end but ended up learning a thing or two. The attached video is about an hour long, so you may need to review it in a few settings or listen over an extended commute as I did. This material came to me as a component of my undergraduate studies in Criminal Justice but the parallels to the industry in which I have devoted more than 15 years of my life are rather astounding. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky is a respected author, the speech follows the material in her book Trauma Stewardship, and speaker, including a TedTalk on this subject matter. Her keynote speech was given before service providers including hospital staff, counselors, teachers and various practitioners who come into contact with people in trauma and how those professionals ensure that their tanks are fueled enough to continue to respond. We have always said, that our team members have to remember that while we restore damaged properties for a living and have seen "a thing or two" (to borrow the tag line from Farmers Insurance), many of our customers, if they are lucky, are experiencing their first water or fire damage. When water, fire or other disasters strike home or business, there is emotional, mental and at times physical trauma. Something deeper than building materials is impacted when a structure is damaged. Our teams are meeting and responding to people in stages of trauma, most obviously when they are responding to conditions such as the recent hurricanes or the sad reality of a crime scene clean up. My interest in the parallels was peaked as so I jotted a few notes as I listened, so my unpolished review includes these thoughts: 1. There is a collective toll from serving those in trauma which can be exacerbated when the system that is supposed to be supporting those on the front lines is compromised, broken and/or dysfunctional. Our job as leaders in our fields, at whatever level we find ourselves, is to work towards a system that enables, encourages and empowers our team members to care for themselves, care for the team and care for our clients. Emotional intelligence and empathy are key (more thoughts on this HERE). 2. Many people respond to repeated trauma by attempting to numb themselves. Numbing has consequences as a) shutting yourself down is removing the one thing in your power which is your ability to "be present" (you will have to listen to hear a more eloquent explanation of this by the author); b) shutting out increases the likelihood that you are losing awareness of doing harm to self, others and those you are serving; c) you cannot selectively numb out and numb back in, if you numb out in the professional arena it will have collateral damage into other arenas of your life. In contrast to numbing oneself or shutting things out, which have negative long term effects, we want to find ways to expand our capacity to be present. The author/speaker present simple concepts such as breathing exercises and provides other tools as well. Leaders should be aware of these consequences and lead by example in practicing positive measures as well as presenting these tools to their teams. 3. A major component of personal health relates to your ability to effectively move trauma through your system. When we regularly are caring for those impacted by trauma there is a toll on our selves and our teams known as vicarious trauma which we should be aware of so that we can address in positive ways. 4. For those that think Laura is just "rainbows and unicorns" spreading psycho babble, foremost she brings her experience from being on the front lines of trauma response and she has some rather stern warnings to those who might pigeon hole themselves as victims in there roles of responding to trauma. The speaker shares the power of an attitude of gratitude and shares how those principles can practically be applied to meetings to weave this vision throughout an organization. At one point the speaker gets rather pointed with the audience reminding them that this job is not being done to you, you have chosen to serve in this field, some people may need to find other lines of work and those that remain need to connect with what brought them to the field and carry on. Trauma isn't always about one major event but rather can be cumulative which includes vicarious trauma from serving those who are in trauma. Those in positions of leadership in service fields should be aware of these concepts for themselves as well as for their teams. Investing in a holistic approach to personal and group health can go a long way to strengthening individuals while building a group that is poised to help themselves, the team and their clients. The guidelines for discipline are the same as the guidelines for leadership they are just applied in a different way as each situation requires examination. Our work in roles of leadership boil down to creating a culture of clarity, consistency and accountability. As we build clarity around our vision, values and the processes that will help our teams and individuals to succeed there will be those who push back on those changes. Resistance is healthy when individuals are discovering whether they can buy into a vision and contribute to the culture, the discernment for a leader needs to be applied to whether the push back is part of a process or embedded in a person’s character. Does the situation of resistance show someone who has made a mistake, someone who is processing the changes or someone who has decided to be an obstacle to progress? Contributing to a cultural change requires a commitment of the brain and the body, to understand the vision and to put the values into practice. Understanding and Application have four basic quadrants: An individual who understands the vision and has chosen to follow and apply the process (Understand + / Apply +). Even in this sector of people, there are those who push back but who ultimately contribute to the team. Individuals work through changes in unique ways and some may be processors who take a bit more time to grasp and engage the details even while they are on board with the overall direction. Those individuals who understand and are applying the vision need to be empowered as partners to help spread the message throughout the team. Not everyone is going to respond to you as a leader and your style in the same way, within this group of early adopters find ways to leverage that momentum to help bring team members who are struggling to understand and/or apply into the fold. An individual who doesn’t understand the vision but has chosen to give the process a chance (Understand - / Apply +). Some people trust the leader but don’t quite get the process or vice versa, they understand the goal of what the team is trying to achieve but they don’t yet trust the leader (the next quadrant). There are many people who are good employees but may not connect with a particular leader or may not be a good long term fit for a culture, of course the best combination is someone who gets in and is passionate about moving the mission forward but don’t overlook those who didn’t understand the vision after one power point presentation. An individual who understands the vision but has not chosen to follow and apply the process (Understand + / Apply -). This group sees the vision and can wrap their mind around it but either they don’t agree with the direction or they don’t trust the leaders or the process. Often a seasoned employee who has seen many vision and values changes may be in this camp, “I’ve seen this before, this will last three months.” There are also individuals who are loyal to the company but believe strongly in the good ol’ days as being the best days and like many are resistant to change. The question is whether these individuals can be won over and will take that positive sense of loyalty and buy into the new direction. Leaders have their work cut out to discern whether there is value in investing in winning these team members over. Often those who are the most resistant initially but are won over will be some of your strongest proponents in the future. An individual who does not understand the vision and has chosen not to apply the process (Understand - / Apply -). While these current team members likely aren’t a good fit for the long term, a leader should dig beneath the surface to determine whether individuals aren’t buying in because they are against the process or they are some combination of the two prior quadrants. Often those who were strong “leaders” from within the team for a prior culture or process will be resistant to changes because there is fear about their position within the new direction. For those who can change there is a role on the team, for those who cannot we can have discussions about assisting them to find a team where their values are a better fit. When you are in a leadership role and are working towards a new direction or are taking over a team that is new to you, there will always be a level of resistance. Push back is natural, it is likely part of why you were able to develop yourself into a position as a leader. Growth as an organization does not happen unless someone is willing to say – what we are doing either isn’t working or will not be sustainable over time. If we want different results we will have to do things differently. The key as a leader is to work towards building clarity in the vision, consistency in the pursuit and accountability in the culture. You cannot forge forward without your team unless you want to be a company of one forever, you must learn to communicate and inspire individuals to understand and apply the vision (Read more on developing Emotional Intelligence or EQ - HERE). As you do so, understand that not all resistance is negative, much of it is part of the process and working through it will help you develop into a stronger leader and your team as a stronger unit. Leadership is leading. As a society, we talk a lot about leadership. This concept has become it's own industry with books, lectures, podcasts, seminars and trinkets. Yet, in all of the various words expended on business, entrepreneurship, and leadership, there are few that discuss the role of empathy as a key to the development of emotional intelligence. If you are in a position of leadership and have a desire to improve your employee engagement as well as team development, there is great value in continuing to grow your own emotional intelligence as you deal with people from various backgrounds. To be a leader in developing others you must start by leading yourself to set an example for how growth is a both a priority as well as an ever evolving process for individuals and their teams. Read more in our article published in About Leader titled How to Lead With Empathy and give us your feedback on how you are developing yourself and your teams. Step out of your comfort zone, make some smart mistakes, build a thriving team and be the leader that your team deserves. If you are resistant to change as well as growing as a leader, you will continue to attract and manage the team that you deserve. |
AuthorThoughts on personal and professional development. Jon Isaacson, The Intentional Restorer, is a contractor, author, and host of The DYOJO Podcast. The goal of The DYOJO is to help growth-minded restoration professionals shorten their DANG learning curve for personal and professional development. You can watch The DYOJO Podcast on YouTube on Thursdays or listen on your favorite podcast platform.
Archives
September 2024
Categories
All
<script type="text/javascript" src="//downloads.mailchimp.com/js/signup-forms/popup/unique-methods/embed.js" data-dojo-config="usePlainJson: true, isDebug: false"></script><script type="text/javascript">window.dojoRequire(["mojo/signup-forms/Loader"], function(L) { L.start({"baseUrl":"mc.us5.list-manage.com","uuid":"b9016446bd3c6a9f0bd835d4e","lid":"83282ffb9e","uniqueMethods":true}) })</script>
|