A catalyzing sentence you can use today to shift your team's culture
Ken Roseboom
I coach leaders to increase their impact, create aligned teams, and deliver better results. Strong Leadership - Clear Communication - True Alignment - Teams Working Better TogetherI coach
A recent study by Atlessen and Blomberg noted that 43% of workers say that "toxic" or ""distrustful" co-workers are extremely detrimental to their team's success.?
Now that's interesting!?
The issue isn't vision, strategy, tools, processes or other systemic forces. Nearly half the time the challenge to a team's success has to do with the team's assessment of themselves. The team members make judgements of others as being "toxic" or not being "trustworthy".?
It's likely they have plenty of observations to support these assessments. It's possible is?confirmation bias?in those observations.?
In my experience these conditions are often allowed to continue. We develop "work arounds" for people we couldn't reach alignment with easily. We deny and tolerate the ineffective and joyless state of our team. We work our way to completion with brute force and determination while silently thinking "surely, there must be a better way".?
This frame of mind is painful. This frame of mind is costly to people and the organization.?
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Here is a possible solution!?
I don't believe many team members woke up this morning thinking of behaviors they could have to create distrust. It is more likely our efficiency and results suffer because of "personality conflicts" and "lack of appreciation" amongst the team.?
We don't have to wait until we define our work environment as "toxic" to take action.
The path to change comes with the simple declaration of "This isn't working for me." We don't need to know the answer or the cure. We just need to make visible that the current state isn't working.?
From the simple statement of "this isn't working for me" we can bring our leadership skills to create new ways of being and doing, to create alignment and coordinated action, and to create mutual respect and trust.?
It will take couragous leadership to declare "this isn't working for me". Take that risk and let me know how it works.?
What might you discover about yourself? What might you discover about your team?
Facilitates the building and strengthening of relationships between people and ideas that drive growth.
1 年I've been trying this. I'll let you know how things develop. ??
Business Coach & Facilitator | Leadership Development & Innovation | Unlock Human Potential in Rapidly Changing Environments | PCC | CPCC
2 年I like that as a tool, Ken and something I'll share with my client. I just had coaching with them to have that "it isn't working for me" feedback conversation with their peer. The request is to create an environment where team members can speak their minds and are heard in an effort to generate more trust and less toxicity. His essence from our call was to value the relationship over being right.
?? Founder, The Leaders Co-Lab | Growing Transformative Leaders and Teams in the AEC & Buildings Industry | Future-focused, Resilient, Systemic, Informed ??
2 年Great article Ken. So simple, and crucial. We need to say what's true. It's likely others will say "it's not working for me either". A good manager will then say "let's change it". If the manager doesn't say it, see it, sense it - maybe a team member can say it. Be a changemaker at work. Tell the truth without blame, shame, or criticism. Have compassion and courage.
Author at Right-Minded Teamwork, Certified Master Facilitator
2 年Ken, wow 43%. That's a lot. And unfortunately, not surprising. For 35+ years, I was an active team-building facilitator [now retired]. We successfully addressed the issue of toxicity and mistrust by creating and living team Work Agreements. Here's an article about one team, who after one year of living their Work Agreements, increased their trust for one another by 78%. There was even more benefit and yes, these teammates were courageous. https://rightmindedteamwork.com/team-working-agreements-bring-people-together/ Thanks for sharing this information. Dan
Strategy and Operations at Jobsity
2 年It is an interesting approach. Certainly it will take some courage to apply!