Which meetings do you have coming up? How will you ensure that your next meeting is a success?
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with meetings. We get frustrated with how much time they take up but also appreciate that meetings, at some level, are important. So, if we are going to commit time to them, what are the parameters that will make the meeting productive?
If you want a meeting to go well it is vital to prepare effectively. By answering seven simple questions you can plan for success, as you can read in:
The 7 Questions You Need to Answer for Any Successful Meeting
To build on these questions, this post explores the main types of meetings and the subtle differences between them. This is knowledge that has been won through years of not only running gatherings but also through coaching other facilitators and teaching about meetings on leadership courses.
There are lots of types of meetings but most fall into the following categories:
Each of these will be considered in more detail but I appreciate it is a long read so you may want to bookmark this article, focus on the section relating to your next meeting, and then come back for reference.
These are short meetings to convey important information.
These meetings take place when critical information needs to be communicated.
Success is that the people that attend the meeting receive and understand the critical information.
The venue should have minimal distractions. Find a place that helps people focus.
Be specific. Ensure you target the people who need to hear and understand the content.
If a briefing is of a critical nature, then the timeline is likely to be a short one. This sort of meeting should be brief – as the title implies – and the content should just cover the essentials. In my experience, these sorts of briefs can be less than 20 minutes, including questions.
These didactic meetings are generally one-way, followed by questions. They tend towards a directive leadership style. Preparation is key if the meeting is to be concise. Using a single visual aid – such as a single slide, plan or map – can aid focus.
Online is an option for briefings, especially if timelines are tight and teams are dispersed. But remember, people often find it harder to focus online so reinforce the critical points.
These are meetings to disseminate useful information and ideas.
To share learning and educate people.
Attendees should feel they have learned something important and worthwhile.
The venue is driven by the size of the audience; therefore, it could be anything from a small meeting room to a huge auditorium. Holding this sort of meeting online is a good option as this allows maximum attendance (and makes the gathering easy to record).
Make sure you target people you need to attend but beyond that education meetings can have a more open invitation.
Teaching sessions can be programmed far in advance to maximise attendance. In terms of length, aim for less than 40 minutes. People’s ability to maintain their attention and retain knowledge goes down sharply beyond this.
Success is dependent upon the quality of the presenter’s preparation and delivery. For example, if I am preparing new material to deliver to a large audience (and want to do this without reading from notes on stage) then I will plan for an hour of preparation for every one minute of delivery time. This may sound extreme but looking effortless takes a lot of effort.
Consider ways to make things as interactive as possible. With smaller groups, they can be made more interactive, with questions being fired both ways during the session. This is harder with audience sizes beyond around thirty, so for larger audiences consider online tools such as apps for questions or quick polls such as Slido.
Here the purpose and outcome of the meeting are shaped by a specific decision or set of choices.
Because a choice needs to be made to allow progress.
A decision is made and recorded.
The venue could take various forms, but as with briefings, ensure that potential distractions are reduced to keep people focussed.
Invite only the minimum number possible to ensure a decision can be made. The more people, the harder to make a choice but, if you don’t have the right people (i.e., those with the right authority) then the choice won’t be official.
There is no hard and fast rule here, but it is worth setting boundaries as a deadline will help ensure a decision. The deliberation will generally take as long as you give people so don’t leave it open-ended. In my experience, if you have not achieved consensus in an hour then you either have the wrong people present, the wrong information or the wrong motivation in the team.
This requires careful facilitation. The facilitator may not be the person of authority, and it often helps if they aren’t, as they can remain impartial and focused on the process. Whoever leads needs to ensure that the critical information is shared (as per a brief) and then that everyone has a chance to contribute and comment.
Get people to engage with the pertinent information before the meeting. This will speed up the process of getting to a decision when people gather. If you want to influence a decision, meet up with individuals before the meeting and set the conditions.
In this case, it is a problem that is the focus of the meeting.
Because there is an issue that needs to be resolved in a timely manner.
Coming up with a decision, strategy, or plan to address the problem.
Pick a space which allows movement, breakouts and access to whiteboards, flipcharts and other aids.
Think about gathering the best minds to help solve the issue. This could well be people outside your team. The number is a balance between focus (better with fewer than 10) and diversity of thought (which might require more). My advice is to keep numbers below 20.
This depends upon the problem. Therefore, I generally do an initial meeting for problem analysis, with the expectation there will be a follow-up session to think about actually planning a solution.
The most important thing is to start with proper problem analysis. If you start trying to sort the problem without identifying the nature of the problem, you are likely to come up with the wrong solution.
Consider using the Grint or Cynefin problem typologies to identify the type of issue.
These meetings are all about generating new ideas or approaches.
Because you want to foster innovation and creativity.
A list of novel ideas that can be explored further and new mindsets within the team.
Find an environment that is inspiring and challenges people’s normal frame of reference (this is generally not in your normal office space). You will want space that allows you to bring everyone together as well as break out space and as many means as possible for capturing ideas (flipcharts, post-its etc)
10-20 people is a good number for brainstorming. Ensure that there is cognitive diversity in the group. It is good to have some outsiders (or mavericks) to challenge assumptions and help avoid groupthink.
Creative sessions generally need more time and I often run them over the course of a day. But the day then needs careful planning, so each session is focussed on a specific outcome and people maintain their energy and focus.
Have a facilitator who is just focused on running the meeting, not on the ideas. Keep individual sessions below 90 minutes and keep gathering people together to cross-fertilise ideas.
If you have never facilitated this type of meeting before you can try the World Café workshop approach.
Every team requires proactive effort to build them up, but the approach depends upon where they are in terms of team development.
To help the team progress in terms of cohesion and performance.
That the team has moved or made significant progress towards, the next stage of their team development.
This also depends on the development stage. For example, if they are forming you might want them in the new place where they will work together. If they are storming you might want a neutral space, removed from the normal workspace.
It is self-explanatory that you need all the members of the team. The challenge is getting all of the team members there as people often see team-building sessions as of lesser importance.
These sorts of meetings usually need to be planned with plenty of lead time, as they are often longer in length. Most team-building sessions I have been involved with are at least a half-day and often run for several days.
There is flexibility here but ensure that every section or session has a defined purpose. Whether you are throwing around ideas or throwing axes, make sure everyone knows why. And ensure maximum engagement and contribution from all team members.
Use the Drexler-Sibbet team performance model to identify the most important question that your team needs to answer at that point in time. Use that to focus your agenda.
Any new initiative should have a proper kick-off.
Because a new team or project is being initiated.
That the team understand the new task and their role in achieving it.
Try to pick somewhere that helps people envisage or focus on the project.
This should be for core team members primarily and, as with team building, the challenge is making sure the whole team is there.
These meetings don’t need to be as long as team-building sessions. For a simple project, this could be less than an hour. For something larger, a half or full day is worth considering so you can combine some team-building elements in too.
Start with the overall vision. In other words, start with the why, getting their buy-in, before exploring the whoand the how.
Take people on a visit relevant to the task. For example, if you are a construction manager, gather the team on the construction site. If it is a community project, walk the team around the local environment. If it’s a new product, take them to the factory. Help them see the vision.
Most teams have these sorts of meetings, but these need to be well-disciplined to be effective.
To report back on progress (for example on a project, for an operation or given budget)
That the leader or manager understands the situation and any relevant implications (e.g. things relating to time, quality or budget).
These meetings are routine and usual office meeting spaces are therefore suitable.
Only the people who need to know (primarily the supervisor) and the key contributors. It does not need the whole team and other stakeholders unless this adds specific value.
These meetings should be planned in as part of the operational routine or to reflect key milestones in a project. Keep them as short as possible; the key danger with these meetings is the feeling that people need to say something (just to sound important or busy).
Share the critical information first, then give the detail as needed. This is often referred to as giving the BLUF (the Bottom-Line Up Front). As with the brief, keep things punchy then leave time for questions and discussion.
Keep the update concise but hold other detail in reserve. For example, if I am presenting slides, I will create a small number of briefing slides (we are talking single figures) but have the extra data on slides at the end of the pack that I can refer to if needed when addressing questions. I will also have people on standby. They don’t have to be in the meeting necessarily but can be called in as needed to answer specific inquiries.
This covers meetings that are future focused (compared to progress which is usually looking back).
When you need a plan! This is obvious but planning meetings provide an opportunity for a leader. You can just direct a team but involving them in planning creates ownership and deeper commitment.
To have a credible action plan. Something that can be communicated and executed.
As with brainstorming meetings, it is good to have a flexible space where you can have breakouts, move around and use whichever aids necessary for effective planning.
In the 8-18-1800 rule, planning tends to fall between the 8 (best for decision-making) and the 18 (for brainstorming). My advice is, if you have more than 8 people, divide the planning up and have small groups working on different elements.
This depends on the criticality of the issue (how urgent it is) and the complexity of the task. Commonly, these can be anything from 1 hour to 1 day, therefore do a time appreciation before you start. In other words, the planning meeting needs a good plan to get the result!
Run the meeting like a project. Have specific tasks and deadlines. As with brainstorming, set regular milestones for sharing progress and ideas.
Consider, has there been a problem-solving meeting beforehand? As noted previously, make sure the issue has been properly analysed before rushing into planning.
Although simple in theory, due to being two people, these are just as important to plan as a large gathering.
Person-to-person meetings can include interviews, coaching, mentoring, and performance meetings.
This depends upon the type of one-to-one meeting, but the important part is to define what success is. Many people forget to define this when just meeting another person.
This is also dependent upon the nature of the meeting. For example, if it is a formal meeting such as an interview you may prefer an office meeting room. If it is a less formal mentoring session you might choose to get away from the office. As with other meetings, think about how the environment will help or hinder your stated outcome. You want a good thinking environment.
Obvious in this case, being just one other person, but consider how you invite them. The level of formality and detail of the invitation will set the expectation for the content of the meeting.
Again, there are no hard and fast rules but, in my experience, a formal meeting – such as challenging someone over discipline – should be short and concise, a matter of minutes. Coaching and development meetings can be more relaxed and longer. I tend to plan 60-90 mins in these cases which allows for some preparation beforehand and noting taking afterwards.
Have a plan. If it is a formal meeting, pre-prepare what you are going to say (see how to manage difficult conversations) and if you are going to do a coaching style session, adopt an approach (such as the GROW model) to structure the meeting.
If the meeting is less formal, consider going for a walk. There are many benefits to walking meetings and it is my preferred method for leadership coaching, mentoring and other discursive one-to-one interactions.
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There are few hard and fast rules for meetings. It is a mixture of science and art. Even the typology used here, identifying the most common sort of meetings, is just a rule of thumb. You will find plenty of alternative lists but there is little academic agreement on the classification of meetings.
There are overlaps between types of meetings, and situations vary, therefore it is a matter of judgement as to how you approach them. But I hope that my experience – gained over many years – will be helpful as a guide as you start your planning.
And if you disagree with some of the classification or advice on meetings then that is fine! It just means that you are thinking critically about the sort of gathering you want to have. And that is vital, as the worst get-togethers are not the ones that don’t follow these guidelines, they are the ones that people have not thought about, the sort that people just attend. We all have a responsibility to eradicate these!
Remember, running productive meetings is a crucial leadership skill, so it is one worth honing if you want to improve your effectiveness as a leader. And if you found this helpful, check out:
The Right Questions is for people who want to lead better and make better decisions. We are all leaders as we all have influence, no matter how much or how little. So, how are you maximising your influence?
If you are unsure, just drop me a line. I would love to help!
Do you want to lead better? Would you like to make better decisions? Want support in achieving your goals? Get in touch and let me know how I can help!
What is the best advice you have for running meetings?
It is a fact of working life that leaders and managers have to run meetings. Therefore being able to facilitate effective meetings is an important leadership skill.
The best guidance I have ever received for facilitating meetings comes from acclaimed author and coach Nancy Kline. Nancy Kline gives nine steps for effective meetings in her book Time to Think, to allow gatherings to be conducted according to the principles of the Thinking Environment. The nine precepts are:
1. Give everyone a turn
2. Begin with a positive reality
3. Let them finish
4. Identify assumptions and ask incisive questions
5. Divide into thinking pairs
6. Go round again
7. Give permission to tell the truth
8. Allow people’s feelings
9. End with a positive turn
Let’s expand on what each of these means with some extra advice from my own experience as a leader and professional facilitator.
When you are leading a meeting give everyone an opportunity to contribute. The easiest way to achieve this is to ‘do a round’. This is initiated by the chair or facilitator asking a question and then everyone takes a turn to answer. This is very important psychologically as it ensures that everyone has a voice at the table and this balances contributions from the more extroverted (louder) people with the more introverted (quieter) folk within a group.
Kick off the meeting with something positive. This shouldn’t be something insincere or contrived, just a positive statement. This will help to frame the meeting positively, and – through understanding cognitive bias – will help keep people in a problem-solving mindset.
One way to achieve this is to do an upbeat round starting with something like, “Please can everyone share a success from this past week.” In this way you can achieve the first two points on this list and set a positive tone before doing a second round with the first agenda point.
Probably the most important thing in conversations – be that one-to-one or in large meetings – is ensuring that people are not interrupted. It is a sure sign that people are not listening properly. If people are not allowed to finish, their train of thought will be broken, ideas will be lost, and psychological safety will be undermined. If people are continually interrupted, they will simply stop contributing and you will be left with the loudest (and rudest) people dominating and lose the cognitive diversity of the group.
To achieve this, set the ground rules before you start, so that everyone will have a turn to speak, and no one will be interrupted. Part of this accord is that those speaking will be concise and not go on for too long (no filibustering!)
If you are leading the meeting, you may need to gently remind people of this agreement if interruptions or long monologues take place. Persevere! Many people are not used to this way of working but hold the line and it will pay dividends in productivity.
Everyone needs to be listening carefully (and not interrupting) if they are going to identify assumptions that come up in the conversation. We need to make assumptions when making decisions because we never have all the facts. This being the case, we need to examine our assumptions and make sure they are reasonable. Questions can help do this, and this sort of questioning is at the heart of Socratic dialogue.
Many decisions are made on false assumptions and these need to be identified and explored using incisive questions. For example, you might hear an assumption (stated as a fact) in a meeting such as “it would be impossible to do that.” When you hear that sort of statement you can use incisive questions to gain a deeper understanding of people’s thoughts. In this case, I might ask questions such as “That’s interesting; what makes you say that it is impossible?”. Or “Could you explain your thoughts around what makes that impossible?”
These questions will help separate fact from assumption and will also allow for new insights to emerge. For example, the answer to the question above might be “It is impossible on this budget.” Then you could explore questions such as “What budget would be enough” or “If budget wasn’t an issue, how would we address this issue?”
Sometimes, to get people engaged, to get out of a thinking rut, or just to be more productive, it can be helpful to break down the meeting into smaller thinking units. Frequently, when facilitating, I will ask people to take a pause and think individually (often noting ideas down for another round) or to break down into pairs or small groups to tackle a specific agenda item.
With small groups, you may need to move around and even use other break-out spaces, so pairs have the advantage of being quick and easy to organise. There are times when you do want to break the flow and use discussion groups of more than two, but it takes time to re-group so do it sparingly.
If in doubt, do another round. Set another question and let everyone contribute. The whole agenda can be achieved in this way, but you need to think about your questions first. This should be part of your preparation for the meeting. Alongside the agenda, have some questions to help illuminate each point.
For example, you don’t simply want to say, “Can you give us an update?” For starters, this is a closed question, and people might just say “No” or “Not at the moment”. The question is also too broad and likely to lead to some people taking too long. So, keep things specific. Ask something like, “Please give an update on the progress of X relating to X” or “What is the one most important issue relating to X right now?” If someone raises a tricky problem you can then do another round to invite thoughts and solutions relating to that issue.
Psychological safety is critical to the success of a meeting. Good leaders create an environment where the team can the truth, not just say what they think the boss wants to hear. This sort of atmosphere, where people are not allowed to tell the truth, is an indication of toxic leadership.
If you are the leader, set an example and don’t avoid the brutal realities of your situation. Share the hard facts, admit mistakes, but maintain a positive attitude. As a facilitator, create an environment where people feel safe. Give encouragement to people who share difficult subjects, acknowledging their honesty and their trust in the group.
Many people get uncomfortable with the idea of feelings in the workplace. This is largely due to cultural norms (often patriarchal ones) and the philosophical notion that we are (or should be) purely rational. Modern psychology, such as the work by Daniel Kahneman, has debunked this theory. Our brains are not purely logical by design so don’t expect people to be entirely rational at work (or anywhere else for that matter).
Expect emotion. Give space for people to share how they are feeling. That does not mean that a meeting should be a free-for-all of shouting and crying! But allow people to share the good and the bad of what is going on in their work and personal lives.
Many times, I have been facilitating, and dealing with someone who is undermining the meeting, only to find out they had some hidden work frustration or problem at home. Once this was aired, they started to contribute constructively again. Yes, this can be risky, but in my experience, if these instances are handled well, they build deeper trust and cohesion in a team.
You cannot avoid emotions, but you can regulate them and learn from them. How we feel – the fight or flight mechanism that is triggered in social interactions – can indicate issues that need to be resolved. My favourite tools for exploring feelings and their related meanings are The Iceberg Model and the SCARF model. I recommend reading up on these if you are not familiar with them.
And if you can, get people laughing! It does wonders for rapport, creativity and general well-being.
You may have had to deal with a lot of challenging material in your meeting, but always try to end on a high. Start positive and end positive. That does not mean that you need to pretend that everything is rosy when it is not. You can be honest but employ a growth mindset and look at everything through the lens of being a learning opportunity.
Lastly, give appreciation. As the leader or facilitator, thank people for their attendance and contributions. Even better, do a final round and get everyone to give a word of thanks or personal comment of appreciation for other members of the team.
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So, as you look to your next meeting, bear these nine ideas in mind. These guidelines work for in-person and virtual meetings, for small or large gatherings.
And don’t worry if you don’t manage to achieve all these elements in one go. Meeting cultures within organisations run deep. They can be very hard to change. But my advice is to persevere with these ideas; if you do you will find meetings less problematic and more productive, less combative and more creative, less frustrating and more fun.
Yes, meetings can be effective and enjoyable, it is possible! And if you would like more help in your meeting preparation and delivery take a look at:
The Seven Questions You Need To Answer For Any Successful Meeting
The Right Questions is for people who want to lead better and make better decisions. We are all leaders as we all have influence, no matter how much or how little. So, how are you maximising your influence?
If you are unsure, just drop me a line. I would love to help!
Do you want to lead better? Would you like to make better decisions? Want support in achieving your goals? Get in touch and let me know how I can help!
What does it mean to be a leader in the age of artificial intelligence?
Which leadership models best apply to the context of AI? Will leaders still need to exist in the future or are these roles also at risk due to technological disruption?
These are questions that I (along with many others) am pondering. My questions, funnily enough, were prompted by other questions. The first big mental nudge came when I was reading Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari. At the end of the book, he poses three important questions, that we need to grapple with:
Are organisms really just algorithms and is life just data processing?
What’s more valuable? Intelligence or consciousness?
What will happen to society, politics, and daily life when non-conscious but highly intelligent algorithms know us better than we know ourselves?
All three questions, and their answers, impact the realm of leadership and it was thinking through how these questions impact leaders that I started to consider supplementary questions that relate to my specific context, i.e.:
These are certainly not the only questions, they may not even be the best questions, but I wanted to start thinking about things where I could bring some practical application, even if it was just in my own small sphere of existence.
There are of course many other questions relating to AI (many of which may ironically be machine-generated) but as a leader of an organisation that is facing significant change, and a professional in the leadership development arena, these three questions are of specific interest to me.
Having mulled over these questions for some time I thought I would share some thoughts. My hope is to generate conversation around how the fields of leadership and artificial intelligence interplay.
I think I should also state my biases up front. Although my wife would say that I generally have a negative bias (I just say that I am a realist), when it comes to AI I am not a prophet of doom. I think there are significant challenges that we need to address. It does feel like a key juncture in our journey as humans, but I don’t think we are just about to lose the human race (excuse the pun) to super-fast computers. You will see why I conclude that in the following reflections.
To answer this question, we must ask ourselves, what does it mean to be a leader in any context? What does it actually mean to be a leader and does AI change that?
What is leadership? There are of course many definitions. One of my favourites is from the leadership expert John C. Maxwell who says that leadership, at its most fundamental level, is influence.
“Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.” John C Maxwell
I like this definition as firstly it is simple. Secondly, it highlights that leadership comes in many forms, not just in the direct management of other people. For example, there is self-leadership, thought leadership, leading-up and other types of leadership outside the stereotypical idea of a command relationship.
And that is why I also prefer the term influence to power. They are similar but power tends to have negative connotations and I believe that the idea of power does not translate as well to all types of leadership, for example, those I have just highlighted (self-leadership, thought leadership and leading-up).
Yes, AI will also have influence (or power) in these same realms, but as per this definition, leadership will continue to exist as long as humans choose to influence themselves and others. Let’s hope we are all around to influence each other – in positive ways – for many years to come.
I have studied, taught, and written about many leadership models. I apply many of these theoretical frameworks in my everyday practice as a leader. Therefore, I don’t believe that suddenly, in the light of technological advances, these tools have (or will soon) become redundant. As long as we have any sort of human-to-human interaction then ideas such as transformational leadership, authentic leadership or situational leadership all have their place.
However, these models do not directly address the context of AI. The best thinking that I have come across to date, that does confront the issues of AI, is The Threshold by Dr.Nick Chatrath. In his book, Nick does a great job of exploring the second question set by Harari, namely, “What’s more valuable? Intelligence or consciousness?” In applying this to leaders he introduces four paths for evolving our leadership. These are:
Cultivating Stillness
Thinking independently
Embodying intelligence
Maturing consciousness
But it is not merely theory. What I particularly love about Nick’s book is that each section has resources – including questions, exercises, and processes – for the practical application of each path.
I am attracted to the idea of the paths in this model as it does not set up a framework that seeks to solve ‘the problem’ of leading with AI. Instead, it is a map, indicating the journey that we can embark on, alongside those we lead and the artificial intelligence that we interact with.
Much of the discussion around AI has centred on who is going to lose their jobs to machines and how soon.
For many workers, machine intelligence will force an evolution of skills and approaches. There are many subtle but important shifts that we need to make.
Such a shift needs to take place for leaders too. Here we come back to the question “What is leadership?” If our answer relates to leadership as a role or position then yes, it is likely that some jobs will be at risk. But as per the earlier definition of leadership, if leadership is about influence, then this will take place as long as humans exist.
And the emergence of new intelligence opens novel leadership opportunities. Burgeoning machine minds need influencing too. This might spawn a whole new field of leadership. There are new leadership books to be written for sure! How about:
Well, maybe not those exactly, but something for sure. And, in this arena, I expect that the concept of values-based leadership will be increasingly important, as how we want to influence the machines that influence us will involve an ethical approach to decision-making. Therefore, leaders are likely to need to study more philosophy and less management. It is a shift that I have already made in my reading and personal development.
So, dear conscious readers, (no, not you, ChatBot, or at least, not yet). Leadership certainly does have a place in the world of AI. The idea of leadership, the exerting of influence will remain.
Leadership will evolve, as with many other roles and professions. New models (such as the 4 paths of The Threshold) will emerge to cover how we better lead humans and machines.
I also believe that we leaders need to broaden our own minds and be more philosophical if we are to grapple effectively with the ethical issues concerning AI, business, work, and life in the future.
And one of the most important things we can do is to talk about this stuff. It is through the sharing of thoughts and ideas that we shape our future. As we engage in dialogue we influence each other. In other words, we lead. If we keep doing that, then there is hope for humans, AI or no.
So, I look forward to the continuing conversation on artificial intelligence and leadership (in all their various forms).
Yours ever, humanly (or at least until I get an upgrade),
Simon (1.0)
The Right Questions is for people who want to lead better and make better decisions. We are all leaders as we all have influence, no matter how much or how little. So, how are you maximising your influence?
If you are unsure, just drop me a line. I would love to help!
Do you want to lead better? Would you like to make better decisions? Want support in achieving your goals? Get in touch and let me know how I can help!
Have you ever been a member of any dysfunctional teams?
If you have then you know how frustrating, depressing, and stressful it can be. I certainly have been, both as an employee and as a manager, and leading an underperforming team has given me plenty of sleepless nights as I have sought to turn things around.
My experience has taught me the truth of Stephen R. Covey’s list of team problems. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, went on to write Principle-Centred Leadership, which builds on the first book and highlights the vital importance of personal values in effective leadership models. The book includes lots of practical advice for leaders and managers, including an explanation of the seven persistent issues that undermine organisations.
The 7 chronic problems he identifies are:
1. No shared vision or values
2. No strategic path
3. Poor alignment
4. Wrong style
5. Poor skills
6. Low trust
7. No self-integrity
They are called chronic because, as with chronic diseases, dysfunctional team problems are persistent and cause continual pain. If these chronic issues are not treated then the organisation will continue to deteriorate and could even die.
So here is a further explanation of each and some tips on how to avoid these pitfalls, or treat the problems if they already exist.
YouTube video: How to spot the 7 chronic problems of dysfunctional teams
Every organisation needs a purpose. On the meta scale, a business needs a clear reason to exist, something that attracts customers and employees alike. On the micro-scale, all teams need to know the vision they are working towards.
The problem is that many leaders fail to communicate a vision. Occasionally that is because they don’t know what the vision is, they are unsure of exactly where they are going. But all too often they just forget to tell people their dream or outline exactly the part the team has to play in delivering the larger organisational vision.
One key element of transformational leadership is communicating a team’s vision. If you are a leader and have not outlined your vision then take some time to think about it and put it into words. You need to be able to explain it in simple terms. Paint a picture of the better future that you are working towards. If you are an employee who does not understand the vision then ask; get your boss to share what it is that drives them, the change they want to make.
The next problem is related to the first. You cannot have a strategic path without knowing what the vision is. But, even if you have a vision, a leader still needs to lay out the path to get there.
The team needs to know the overarching plan of how they will get to a better future. This is what strategy is. Richard Rumelt, author of Good Strategy, Bad Strategy, gives the following definition:
“A strategy coordinates action to address a specific challenge.”
People need a plan to coordinate their actions. It does not need every detail sorted out, but it does require enough specific direction so that people can keep moving in the right direction. And that too leads us on neatly to our next chronic problem.
Having a vision and strategy are essential, but they won’t guarantee success on their own. Individuals need to be aligned to that direction and that comes down to knowing their role within the team and the values that drive the organisation.
Roles are vital, but here I am not talking about mere titles. If you want an idea of the deluge of lengthy, cool-sounding but confusing job titles, then just take a look on LinkedIn, but I can guarantee that even their owners can struggle to explain their actual role. Here I mean the exact role we have to play in our team and our part in the overall plan.
Within a team we need to know how we fit alongside, to complement their strengths and weaknesses. Using a model such as Belbin’s team role finder can help this process. Individuals also need to understand how their tasks support the overall success of the organisation.
For example, Field Marshall ‘Monty’ Montgomery, when he took over the British 8th Army in 1942, was in retreat across the African desert. To turn things around, he made sure that everyone, right down to the typists in Battalion headquarters, knew the importance of their contribution. In this way, he aligned everyone to the task of winning and led the Allies to victory in Tunisia in 1943.
The next problem is that of leadership style. A manager must employ an effective leadership approach to align their team to the strategy and vision. Situations change and employees differ so a good leader can flex their style accordingly.
If you are unsure how to adapt your management approach then I recommend Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model along with Max Landsberg’s Skill-Will matrix. Both of these tools help leaders to assess the best approach for the circumstances and team members.
Equally important as finding a good leadership style is avoiding a bad one. Toxic leadership is a sure-fire way to team dysfunctionality so avoid the seven traits of bad leaders, including incompetence, rigidity, intemperance, or being callous, corrupt, insular or evil.
Incompetence can be a cause of toxic leadership but competency can be a problem across a whole team. Sometimes people are just not experienced enough to do the job. Fortunately, this is one of the easiest things to fix. If people have the right character and a growth mindset, then they can learn the right skills.
In this instance, the responsibility of the manager is to identify the skills gaps and create personal development plans for individuals. These might be technical skills but don’t forget to consider people’s soft skills. These are often overlooked but are critical. If you don’t know where to start then the United Nations list of the 10 most important life skills can help. For managers who want to improve themselves, using Robert Katz’s framework of leadership skills is a good place to start to identify areas of growth.
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Nothing undermines a team’s performance as quickly as a lack of trust. Trust is the fundamental building block of all relationships, so when this breaks down teams are truly dysfunctional as the lack of trust is a blocker to working together.
We all know that trust is important but sometimes it is hard to quantify and that is why the Trust Equation is so helpful. Research by Green, Maister and Galford (2001) showed that:
Trust (or Trustworthiness) = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy)/Self-Orientation
Here, credibility and reliability are self-explanatory but intimacy is worth explaining. In this instance, it relates to how safe you feel around a specific person. For this model, self-orientation equates to how self-centred a person is.
Where trust is lacking, there are proven behaviours that can help build trust in teams. Paul Zak identified eight behaviours that help foster trust in teams. These are:
Finally, a lack of self-integrity is symptomatic of poor team health. Integrity is best described as walking the talk, so if a leader or team’s actions do not match their words then there is a problem. At the fundamental level, this is about values. Are people aligned with their principles and are they making decisions that are aligned with the values of their organisation?
My favourite tool for exploring the relationship between behaviours and values is The Iceberg Model. It is a very simple theory. As with a physical iceberg, the visible bit (in this case people’s behaviours and words) is the small element that exists above the surface. Below the surface is the greater mass. In terms of organisational culture, this hidden space includes people’s thoughts and feelings, values and beliefs, fears and needs. To understand the behaviour you have to use questions to dig below the surface and discover the cause. Only once this diagnosis has taken place can a plan be put in place to change the behaviour.
It is worth taking a few seconds to reflect on your team. How is it performing? If there is a problem, can you identify which of the seven chronic problems are to blame? Ask yourself:
If you are a manager, why not get team members to give you some answers as well? It might feel like a painful process, but every team has challenges, so it would be a surprise to not find an area of weakness.
Take heart. What you have done is take the first positive step, that of diagnosis. As Dr Dean Ornish says,
“Awareness is the first step of healing.”
The good news is that you have now taken the first step. Next, you can plan and work out a way to solve the problems, because that is what high-performing teams do; they always seek to be better.
The Right Questions is for people who want to lead better and make better decisions. We are all leaders as we all have influence, no matter how much or how little. So, how are you maximising your influence?
If you are unsure, just drop me a line. I would love to help!
Do you want to lead better? Would you like to make better decisions? Want support in achieving your goals? Get in touch and let me know how I can help!
Do you think leadership is important? Do you consider yourself as a leader?
Maybe leadership feels natural to you. Or perhaps, you don’t feel like a leader, even if you are in a management position.
In my case, for a long time, I didn’t think I was a leader. I certainly did not feel that I was born a leader or that I encompassed what I thought were key leadership qualities, such as large amounts of charisma, power, and self-confidence.
But then, much to my surprise I was given some small management roles and (hiding my insecurity) I started to lead others. I won a scholarship with the military and became an Army Officer, gaining invaluable leadership training and practical experience in command.
From there, I have gone on to various leadership roles with increasing levels of responsibility. As well as leading a large organisation, I coach senior leaders, write a regular leadership column, and facilitate leadership courses.
But you would never have predicted that if you had seen me in my early years. So, what happened? What made the difference?
The shift for me was gradual, but I can now point to three simple (but revolutionary) truths that have impacted my leadership journey. These are:
These truths now drive my purpose. I help others in their leadership path and often this involves de-bunking unhelpful assumptions about what a leader is. And this is an inclusive approach to leadership; everyone can lead and get better at leading.
I love adventure (it is one of my core values) and I like to think of life as a journey. On our road, we often meet or travel alongside others. Each meeting is an opportunity to serve, no matter how long or short the time is that we spend together. With every interaction with others, I think, “What can we teach each other that will make us better leaders and equip us for the next stage of our adventure?”
Therefore, even though we are not together in person now, this is still a moment of connection. I hope some of my thoughts will help you on your journey.
Before we unpack the 3 truths of leadership a little more, let’s first define our terms. Specifically, let’s define what we mean by leadership.
There are many definitions of leadership. W.C.H. Prentice, in his famous HBR article of 1961 defined leadership as:
“The accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants”
W.C.H Prentice
Most people think about leading in these terms. It is about one person using other people to get stuff done.
However, this definition does not quite capture all types of leadership. For example, what about self-leadership, followership, 360-degree leadership, or thought leadership?
Therefore, my favourite definition of leadership is that of author John C. Maxwell who says that leadership is, in its essence, influence.
“Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”
John C. Maxwell
Thus, I would define leaders as people who use their influence (or power) to initiate change.
With this definition, of leadership as influence, we can now see the logic of how everyone is, to some degree, a leader. This is because we all have a measure of influence, on ourselves and others.
“Everyone is a leader because everyone influences someone.”
John C. Maxwell
The term influence is synonymous with power, but I prefer the term influence. That is mainly due to how people view themselves. If you ask someone “Are you powerful?” very few people would say yes. However, if you ask someone “Do you have a degree of influence, on yourself and others?” then most people would recognise that they do.
Even when people protest that they have little influence on others, they can see that they do have influence on themselves. This is self-leadership. And we all have friends, families, associates, and colleagues who we interact with. Every interaction we have creates little micro changes in ourselves and our environment. So, even if small, our influence is important, because it affects the people we love most.
Therefore, we need to think about what we want to do with our influence. What changes do we want to initiate? To step up as leaders, all we need to think about is what future we are trying to create. What is the positive world that we are trying to bring about in people and our environment?
That change starts with us. It is a choice, committing to self-improvement and then to lead ourselves and others better. The first vision we need is one for ourselves. What is the better version of us that we want to grow into? What sort of leader do you want to be? If we want effective change, we need a clear picture of what we want to change into.
“Be the leader you wish you had.”
Simon Sinek
And that growth never stops. You may be a new team lead or the CEO of a large company, but the simple fact remains; we can all improve our performance. Therefore, no matter how far along our leadership journey we are, we all need time to reflect and work out what we work on next.
There are many different tools that can help us assess our strengths and weaknesses or identify areas for growth. One useful framework is that of Robert Katz who breaks down skills into technical, human, and conceptual competencies. My preferred approach is to think about the Five Levels of Leadership, and which skills we most need at each strata of responsibility.
Once you have decided upon an area for development you can start to experiment and learn. A growth mindset is dependent upon experiential learning. As with David Kolb’s learning cycle, we have an experience, we then reflect on it and we think about conceptual tools that can help us. Then we experiment with applying those concepts, thereby creating a new experience, and so the cycle starts again. We might make mistakes, and some things might not work, but by following this cycle we fail forward; always learning and progressing.
And if you are really committed to self-improvement then there are various leadership training programmes and leadership coaching options that you can consider.
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No one is born a fully-fledged leader, and no one is a leader by birthright. We should not see someone as either a born leader or not.
“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”
Vince Lombardi
So we can dispense with Great Man Theory; the idea that some people are destined from birth to be the makers of history. But, if leading is about influence and we all have some influence, then we are all born with some capability to be leaders in that respect.
You may not have been born a leader but you were born to lead.
Whether we recognise that fact, develop ourselves, increase our influence and have a positive effect? That is a personal choice.
So, what choice will you make?
“A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential. Leadership is not about titles or the corner office. It’s about the willingness to step up, put yourself out there, and lean into courage.”
Brené Brown
If you would like any support for you or your team on your leadership journey, for example with leadership coaching or leadership development courses, please do drop me a line via the Contact Page.
The Right Questions is for people who want to lead better and make better decisions. We are all leaders as we all have influence, no matter how much or how little. So, how are you maximising your influence?
If you are unsure, just drop me a line. I would love to help!
Do you want to lead better? Would you like to make better decisions? Want support in achieving your goals? Get in touch and let me know how I can help!
Why would a senior executive want a coach?
There are many assumptions that people make (including senior leaders) which can create a negative answer to this question. Executives are seen as having achieved a great deal, so what further goals would they want to accomplish with a leadership coach? They are already at the top of an organisation, so what more do they have to learn about leadership? Some leaders are even worried that having a coach might seem to be a sign of weakness, a crack in their façade of being the infallible commander.
So why seek assistance?
As we look at these assumptions, we can see where the falsehoods lie. No matter what we achieve in life, there is always something new to strive for. Despite rising to a high position, we can always learn more about leadership. And wanting to be better, and getting help to do so, should never be seen as a sign of weakness.
And how do I know this? Well, I have worked in various senior leadership positions, I have been coached and am also an executive coach. Having had experience on both sides, I can offer some reasons why I see an increasing number of senior executives invest in coaching.
In my experience, several factors make coaching attractive to executives. Coaching supports decision-making, provides space to think strategically, supports personal development, provides a confidential space to talk about concerns and allows leaders to focus on their work-life balance. Also, I have found that investors and board members encourage it.
An Executive, by definition, is someone who makes decisions and puts them into action. Senior executives generally have a lot of experience they can lean on when making decisions. But being at the top, particularly being the CEO, means that you will face novel choices and situations.
Even with some prior knowledge, the stakes are higher. Take conflict management for example. A breakdown in relationships may have a small operational effect at a lower level, whereas at the board level, it can bring a whole organization down. This is where the opportunity to talk through decisions can be vital.
The challenge increases further for CEOs, directors, and senior leaders in start-ups. Founders and entrepreneurs can rapidly find themselves in leadership positions that are not only outside of their prior experience but also put stress on their passions. Senior leadership can challenge the gifts that got the idea off the ground in the first place. What’s more, as an organisation grows, the management style needs to change, and leaders need to recognise this if they want growth to continue.
The higher you climb up the leadership ladder the more demands there are on your time. Above other demands, the most important thing as a leader is to set the direction for the team. Most people would agree that you need quality headspace to refine the vision and strategy for an organization. But often these same people struggle to do so. It takes real discipline to carve out time to think in a busy schedule.
Coaching can provide a thinking environment. A good coaching experience should be a place where a person feels completely at ease. It provides more than just a sounding board; it is a creative exercise. Coaching is a place where assumptions can be challenged and overcome.
Visionary leaders such as Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt, and Bill Gates knew this and used coaches to help them. Whatever level of leadership we operate at, this fact should give us pause to think about what we could achieve with a coach. It certainly challenged me. Now, despite my leadership position and the fact I am a coach, I still have a mentor and coach of my own.
Having brought up the topic of mentors, it is probably worth pointing out that there are differences between coaching and mentoring. There is a lot of overlap but generally, mentors are someone more senior or experienced in your sphere of work. A mentor is someone who can guide you and open up new opportunities in your line of business.
Therefore, it goes without saying that the higher up you go the harder it is to have a mentor of this type. That does not mean you shouldn’t look for a mentor if you are in a senior position, but it does mean that coaching becomes even more important to help with your personal development.
Even at the top of the pyramid, you need a good team. Within an organization, the number of people who you can reach out to support you are fewer and therefore senior leaders must have a network that expands beyond their immediate situation.
At the top level, especially as a CEO, there may be no line manager to lean on. As mentioned previously, it is harder to find a mentor. Family and friends, therefore, become ever more important but at the same time, it is often unfair to overly burden them with work concerns.
Many important issues are hard to discuss with work contacts, family, or friends. Take for example talent management. When you are considering the sensitive subject of hiring and firing people it requires a level of confidentiality and objectivity. Many C-level executives find that a coaching environment can provide the appropriate context.
Even with a great network of friends, colleagues and even mentors, some concerns are hard to share. Sometimes people don’t want to appear vulnerable in a work context, at other times the issues are just too sensitive.
The confidential nature of a coaching relationship can provide a safe environment to explore any subject. In a good coaching relationship, any challenge can be discussed, without judgment or unsolicited advice.
As a coach, I have listened to issues of the most personal nature from leaders at the top of business, government, and international organisations. Many of these things have been so sensitive the person has not even shared them with their closest family. When these sorts of challenges come up for executives it is vitally important – for their own health, as well as that of their family, friends, and team – that they have someone they can speak to in total confidence.
Being a senior leader is rarely (if ever) a 9–5 job. Even if you can contain your office hours, the concerns and demands of leadership will go far beyond the average working week. The lines between work and other aspects of life can also become blurred. Balancing priorities of leading an organization alongside other roles we have — be that spouse, parent, friend, or whatever — can suffer in the competition.
The phrase ‘work-life balance’ makes the choice sound binary but for those with significant management responsibility, this is rarely the case. It is more akin to spinning multiple plates than just choosing between two things. Coaching, for people at the boardroom level, can help take this into account. Life must be looked at holistically and coaching can help explore how values and priorities play out in every area of life.
I have got it wrong and burnt out. I use my experience to help others to hopefully avoid the same car crash, but unless you know how to best monitor the dials on your dashboard, you are at risk.
When new leaders step into a top-level position or entrepreneurs go after funding, board members and investors alike hedge for success. Increasingly, oversight boards and investors want to ensure continued good leadership of an organization as well as the potential for good financial returns. That is because — often through bitter experience — investors and shareholders have learned that without effective leadership they are unlikely to see a return on their investment.
Investors and advisors are therefore looking favourably — and sometimes even mandating — that the executives they are investing in financially are also investing in coaches to assist the leaders as they navigate the challenges that come with success. This is particularly true for accelerated start-ups and businesses seeing exponential growth as these challenges can outmatch even the most competent manager.
Need is a strong word but yes, a coach can certainly help.
Yes, I am biased. I am a coach so of course I am going to say that people can benefit from having a coach. But don’t take my word for it. In the words of one CEO that I coached:
If I could change anything in my CEO career, I would have had a coach from day one!
An increasing body of scientific evidence shows that we learn faster and more effectively when coached, so both anecdotal and academic evidence support the efficacy of coaching at every level, but especially for those who are (or aspire to be) in the highest leadership positions.
So, no matter what level of responsibility you hold at the moment, take a second to think about the points above:
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you might want to consider an executive coach. If that is the case, please do drop me a line via the contact page for a free initial consultation.
The Right Questions is for people who want to lead better and make better decisions. We are all leaders as we all have influence, no matter how much or how little. So, how are you maximising your influence?
If you are unsure, just drop me a line. I would love to help!
Do you want to lead better? Would you like to make better decisions? Want support in achieving your goals? Get in touch and let me know how I can help!