6 to Success - November 2023

It’s November — Was October everything you wanted it to be? What would you like to change by December?

Welcome! In case you haven’t read 6toSuccess before, here’s what to expect. Every month, I post six abbreviated leadership insights or tips. I’ll also answer your questions in a column and share some of my publications and media appearances. I invite you to read 6 to Success and share your thoughts or questions.

ONE

(Tip) What High-Performing Teams Have Always Had in Common

The amount of cultural and organizational changes the workplace has undergone over the last few years is startling. As more and more workers push for diversity, inclusion, remote work flexibility, and purpose-driven employers, it’s up to managers and leaders to organize and accommodate the modern workforce.

It will come as little surprise to know that office culture has, according to small-scale and large-scale research over the course of decades, always been a crucial factor in team performance. A recent Harvard Business Review piece by David Burkus zoomed in on the three factors those teams shared over decades of research. I think you’ll find that these factors are just as important for the new workforce as they were in the past. Let’s take a look next.

TWO

(Tip) The Three Ingredients of Great Teams

The first ingredient is “common understanding” — a recognition that every person on the team possesses not only unique responsibilities but also distinct life experiences, communication preferences, work styles, and abilities. A team that has a common understanding of its teammates is aware and respectful of these differences and, as a result, can tap into the unique insights of their peers.

The second is “psychological safety” — the degree to which your team feels like they can safely express their opinions, disagreements, and questions without chaos ensuing. No one wants to feel like they’re stepping through a minefield just to provide constructive feedback. Fear doesn’t help teams. It makes them hide mistakes, stifle questions, and put up facades. Much better is the team that effortlessly communicates, excitedly builds on the ideas of others, and speaks freely about what they don’t know (or don’t like) without losing a sense of camaraderie.

The third is “prosocial purpose” — the sense of making a meaningful contribution to a purposeful business. When teams hear the pivotal role their work plays in serving your business’ overall mission, particularly if they see how they have improved someone’s life, it connects them with a sense of purpose and motivation that simply doesn’t occur if it’s just “work that needs doing.”

THREE

(Media) ?The Myth of the Mercurial Maverick

Last month, I teased a new piece I’m working on about surviving a mercurial CEO, and writing it brought me face-to-face with one of the most common and destructive myths in the professional world: the mercurial maverick. If a CEO is impulsive, tyrannical, eccentric, erratic, and quick to anger, they’re probably creative geniuses and deserve a free pass, right? No.

The business world loves to romanticize drill sergeant-like bosses, but the truth is, those qualities hold them back (and often lead to their fall from grace), not spring them forward. What’s impressive is a leader who understands their weaknesses, leans on their team for support, listens to the ideas of others, and doesn’t let their ego get in the way of running a great and sustainable business. As we saw in the last section, it’s hard to imagine one of these mercurial mavericks nurturing that time-tested ideal team culture. Stay tuned for my tips on how to work with one of these bosses!

FOUR

(Tip) It’s Time to Take a Break

You’re going to start hearing about burnout over the next couple of newsletters. It’s one of those topics that just about everyone in the business world can relate to, but we rarely have the knowledge to understand just how deeply it affects us and just how underequipped many of us are to respond to it. Let’s start changing that.

The first thing to understand about burnout is that it’s often caused, ironically, by trying to be more productive. When we start to feel lethargic and unproductive, we force ourselves to work longer and harder to “make up for it” rather than take the rest we need to get back to usual. As a result, we dig ourselves deeper down into burnout, which we often respond to by working harder to offset. You can see the vicious cycle. Sometimes, the most productive thing you can do is take a break. More on this later.

FIVE

(LGBTQ+) Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Latest Report

A national survey of LGBTQ+ people’s experiences at work has highlighted just how far we’ve come and just how much farther we have to go. The first surprising piece of data was that 84% of LGBTQ+ workers were out to at least one coworker — a much higher figure than in 2018, which was 54%. Still, LGBTQ+ workers were half as likely to be out to their HR departments, perhaps due to a lack of trust or opportunity.

This tracks with another finding: 50% of LGBTQ+ workers report that they have withheld their identity in at least one job in their lifetime, and 40% report that this was due to fears of stigmatization or even violence at work.?

26% of LGBTQ+ workers and 36% of transgender and non-binary workers reportedly searched for different jobs due to an unaccepting work environment, and 28% and 37%, respectively, have left their jobs for this reason.

The report also found a discrepancy between groups regarding how sufficiently employers are helping transgender workers, with 35% of non-LGBTQ+ people saying employers do too little, 57% of LGBTQ+ people, and 61% of transgender and non-binary people.

SIX

(Column) Ask John

Question: I need a quick way to provide feedback to people on my team. Any thoughts?

Answer: There are multiple ways to provide feedback. Consider a few things:

One framework I’ve seen people use is the SBI model: Situation, Behavior, Impact.

Situation: What’s the situation you are describing - imagine that when you describe this you're describing a play by play - all fact, nothing subjective

Behavior: What’s the behavior you are describing? Avoid using judgment words that could trigger the person you're speaking with.?

Impact: What was the impact the behavior had on you, your team, or the organization?

Then, ask an open-ended question to invite feedback or further the conversation

Let's look at an example: Imagine you saying this...

“Meetings are frequently scheduled before 8 am, which is when I am taking my kids to school. When you schedule meetings before 8 am, I am unable to consistently get my kids to school on time and I don’t feel like I’m fulfilling my parental morning routine or offering full value to you and the team.? How would you feel about scheduling meetings before 8 am only if there are absolutely no other options available?

I would love to hear from you. If you have question, share it here.