Leading Through TeamsPractitioner Articles

March 3rd, 2010

Nanci Atrach * Manon Wakkach Jon Skirving * Markus Vujacic

Agenda Living With TeamsBuilding Cohesiveness and PrideTransferenceCultural IntelligenceWhen Followers Become ToxicThe Law of Identity

1.People are frowning a lot...

2.People are empowered to dig their own grave...

3.People are stabbing one another in the chest...

4.People think you’re a turkey. Your leadership is tentative and inconsistent ...

5.People are getting the short end of the stick...

6.People don’t give a hoot ...

a) Probably time to get a new team

b) Know one another early on, appreciate one another and sharpen the focus

c) Reward people for teamwork and remove the every man for himself mentality

d) Set quantifiable limits for team members, carefully define power

e) Keep squabbles from undermining the team effort, promote friendliness

f) Keep Leadership consistent and the vision alive

CHALLENGE: When to apply a team to a task, and when to keep things simple. To keep teams running smoothly, need to constantly check oil and tires

TEAM DIAGNOSIS: SIGNS THAT TEAM LEADERS ARE IN TROUBLE:

Bottom Line to TeamsUse them when they work, and when they

don’t, use something else!Emphasize and promote the spirit of

teamworkcultivate co-operation and sharing, and weed

out turf issues and ego games

Building Cohesiveness and PrideHigh performing leaders do 3 things to build group cohesiveness and

pride:

1. they establish and articulate visions of what could be for their organizations

- go after the “heroic” goal

- “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it” – Moliere

- own the heroic goal, when you own something, you take more care

2. they PROMOTE the goal - promote employee communication and motivation with the same intensity you would market to customers

- internal advertising campaigns eg) memos, reward programs

- “What gets rewarded, gets done.”

- continually stress goal achievement

Building Cohesiveness and Pride3. they provide abundant feedback, appreciation and

recognition- how long would you keep playing tennis or golf if you

couldn’t keep score?- people thrive on praise- “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost self-

esteem of their personnel. It is the key to performance improvement.”

- recognize someone at every staff meeting- praise inner qualities first, and then what they produce- limit praise to situations where it is deserved and you

understand the improvement made

TransferenceTransferring experiences and emotions from past

relationships onto the present Rooted in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis experiments Patients would constantly fall in love with him (his wise father

like approach)

Business World Relationship Between Leader and Followers

Follower’s Motivation Rational (Money, Status, Power) Irrational (Powerful images, emotions project on relationships)

Transference rooted in Irrational Motivation Does not have strong grounding in reality Based upon perception

Types of Transference Defined by family experiences (both leader and followers)

Tradition Family Unit

Paternal Transference Leader wise, understanding, protective father Followers give up own views and embrace leader as unquestionably correct Traditional Family Model Considered normal behavior in hierarchal businesses

Maternal Transference Leader Unconditional love, caregiver, supporting Followers Look for support, nurturing, dependence

Sibling Transference Non-traditional family model (parents absent) Leader Absent or non-existent (Flat Org.) Follower Dependent on Peers Thrive in Flat, non-hierarchal organizations

Can You Identify the Type of Transference that Followers Identify With?

Making Transference Work for YouWestern vs. Asian Culture View of good Manager

Western helpful when needed, encourage independence Asian protect and teach followers, in return give complete

loyalty and obediencePositive vs. Negative

Positive Powerful sense of support, higher productivity Negative Rejection, incompatibility

Managing Transference:

Know Yourself Promote Mutual Understanding Create a Common Enemy

Cultural Intelligence or CQ«  The ability of an outsider to interpret

someone’s unfamiliar and ambigious gestures like that person’s compatriots and colleagues would »

Related to emotional intelligence: « a propensity to suspend judgement – to think before acting »

The three sources of CQThe head: inquiring about the meaning of

some customs. Requests to implement learning strategies

The body: the ability to mirror the customs and gestures of the people around you

The heart: the self-confidence to believe that you can adapt to the new culture and stay motivated in front of obstacles

The CQ ProfilesThe provincialThe analystThe naturalThe ambassadorThe mimicThe chameleonMany managers are a hybrid of 2 or more

profiles

When Followers

Become TOXIC

When the majority rulesSolomon Asch Experiment

Most people (including LEADERS) prefer conformity to controversy, and the pressure to conform rises with the degree of agreement among those around you

American-Vietnam War: John F. Kennedy bowing to pressure from advisors, agreed to escalation of American intervention in Vietnam

Effective leaders can end up making poor decisions because able and well-meaning followers are united and persuasive about a course of action

Followers = Toxic???“cognitive misers”- preferring the shortcuts

of automatic thinking over considered examination

Dell’s Olympic line of desktops

Reinforced by American/Western culture

Fooled by FlatteryThe power of INGRATIATION

Flattery, favours and frequent compliments all tend to win people over. Leaders naturally like those who like them and are more apt to let those they are fond of influence them

What can LEADERS do?

Challenge your team

360 degree feedback program

Will voice opinion when asked

Six ways to counter wayward influences

1. Keep vision and values front and center2. Make sure people disagree3. Cultivate truth tellers4. Do as you would have done to you5. Honor your intuition6. Delegate, don’t desert

A good set of values, some trusted friends, and a little paranoia can prevent followers from becoming toxic!

The Law of IdentityShared values define the team

Just as personal values influence and guide an individual’s behavior, organizational values influence and

guide the team’s behavior

Shared values are like…

Identity

Values Add Value To The TeamArticulate the valuesCompare values with practicesTeach the valuesPractice the valuesInstitutionalize the valuesPublicly praise the values

L = f {l1, l2, gm, sE,e}

traits behaviour group members situation

Living with Teams

Building cohesivene

ss and pride

CQ

Toxic Follower

s

Transference

Law of Identity