Action Speaks Louder Than Words
Most managers believe in teamwork, at least they say they do. Sadly, a scarce few of them make teamwork a reality in their organisations; in fact, they often end up creating environments where company politics and departmental silos are the norm. And yet they continue to tout their belief in teamwork, as if that alone will somehow make it magically appear. How can this be? How can intelligent, well-meaning executives who supposedly set out to foster cooperation and collaboration among their peers and staff be left with organisational dynamics that are anything but team-oriented? And why do they go on promoting a concept they are so often unable to deliver? The Intégro team management software enables delivery.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, teamwork is not a virtue. It is a deliberate strategic business choice, not unlike adopting a specific business model or financial strategy. And certainly, when properly understood and implemented, it is a powerful and most beneficial tool to all involved. However, many executives/managers preach teamwork but do not set an example or demand that their people live it – their words, their music and their actions, contradict each other. That creates three big problems.
Hypocrisy – First, they are inducing a collective sense of hypocrisy among their staff, who feels that teamwork has devolved into nothing more than an empty slogan. Decisions relating to building effective teamwork are verbalised, but execution is often delayed, or conveniently postponed.
Confusion – Second, and more dangerous still, they are confusing those staff members about how to act in the best interest of the company, so they wind up trying to pragmatically express self-interest and ideologically being selfless. The combination of these two factors evokes inevitably a paralysing feeling of dissonance, confusion and guilt.
Artificial Harmony – Third, a climate of superficial politeness is reinforced as an operational norm. Fear lies at the bottom of this. Fear of confrontation and conflict. Rather be obedient and toe the line of authority, position power in action in other words.
Cause & Effect – Team leadership starts with the leader as a person. Leadership isn’t accidental; it is intentional and it can be shaped. Shaping it on a personal level, the question is what could be the root cause of your music/words and actions to be in conflict? Four critical interferences must be considered.
- ‘Contact’ (poor sensory contact with yourself and the environment). In situations like this you are probably not aware of what is going on in the here and now with yourself. Not being ‘in contact’ with your inner self and outside world. For example, most of us have been in meetings where two or more people are engaged in a discussion ostensibly about one issue, yet they seem to be talking past one another about two different issues. They are also likely not to have eye contact with one another.
- ‘Masking’ (holding back self-expression) Often, a person holds back or blocks his or her self-expression either by trying to hide the existence of certain feelings (in himself or herself) or by inhibiting expression of those feelings because he/she anticipates negative reactions from others.
- ‘Denial’ (pretending or suppressing impulses) Frequently, this results in incongruent behaviour (not being straightforward), as when a person evidences feelings of anger or antagonism which others can sense (particularly through physical signs, such as clenched jaws or fists or being tense), and yet he/she verbally denies having such feelings.
- ‘Imaginings’ (thinking, theorising, and anticipating what is going on in someone else’s head) This is perhaps the most common interference. When our attention is concentrated on imaginings in our own heads about what is going on in the minds of others rather than on what is occurring in the environment in the here and now and our own feelings, we cannot be in touch with what we are presented with and will communicate double messages. (Words only 10% & nonverbal 90%)
In general, the most frequent obstacle to recognising our needs is our cognitive or mind-model of how we believe we should feel, think, and be. We have in modern life placed so much emphasis on what is logical and rational that we have become preoccupied with “figuring out the right answer or the right way to be” in our heads rather than seeing, hearing, and feeling what is really going on inside and around us, and responding to it according to its demand and according to what we have to do to meet our needs in the moment. When your words and your music are in tune, it is the most powerful way of communication; people will trust, follow you and work together as an effective team.
Sources: Johan Cronjé, Specialist Coach in Organisation & Team Performance, Intégro Learning SA; Patrick M. Lencioni – Five Dysfunctions of Teams; Stanley M. Herman & Michael Korenich – Authentic Management.