Most teams suck at communication...and trust falls aren't going to fix it...

“Good leaders inspire people to have confidence in the leader; great leaders inspire people to have confidence in themselves.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

The Question

Do you know why your team is getting defensive?

Most teams suck at communication.

Too often, I see teams take on defensive and territorial behaviours, especially with high-pressure work and projects.

Why?

It often comes down to questioning each other’s intent and a lack of trust. This is a group norm—a behaviour that has been tolerated and perpetuated. We’ll assume malicious intent.

Or if it’s not malicious intent, then it’s lazy intent.

"Why'd you do that this way?" They ask it with the underlying intent of: "Were you just lazy? Did you not think?"

The Research

In the research, this tendency has been identified as the fundamental attribution error (FAE).

This is a cognitive bias in which individuals attribute others' behaviours to inherent personality traits while overlooking situational factors.

Understanding this bias is crucial in the context of team communication:

1. Fosters Misjudgment of Intent: When teammates make decisions, others might perceive these actions as reflecting personal flaws or laziness rather than considering external pressures or incomplete information.
2. Impacts on Trust: The FAE erodes trust, as teammates might view each other's actions with suspicion, questioning their motives instead of seeking to understand the situational context.
3. Introduces Barriers to Effective Communication: This bias stifles open dialogue and collaboration, as individuals become defensive and less likely to share crucial information or seek input from others.

Some Advice

When we question each other's intent, we block crucial conversations. When we don't assume positive intent, we don't get curious. We don't try to understand where the other person is coming from, what they're dealing with, or the information they had to make the decision.

When we jump at each other's throats because of it, we make people defensive and territorial, perpetuating our collective challenges.

Your Hack

If you're looking to mitigate how your team communicates to avoid tendencies such as the fundamental attribution error, try some of these tips:

1. Promote Positive Intent & Believe in the Good of People: Encourage a culture where team members assume positive intent in each other's actions. This shifts the focus from blame to understanding. It goes back to one of the first fundamental mindset shifts I teach all my clients: believing in the good of people serves us way more than pursuing the alternative path.

2. Foster Open Dialogue & Align Communication Practices with Values: Create safe spaces for team members to express their thoughts and concerns without fear of judgment. This can be through regular check-ins, anonymous feedback, or team-building activities. Ensure that communication methods reflect your team’s core values, such as trust, respect, and collaboration. Encourage practices that promote these values, like transparent decision-making processes.

3. Provide Context: Ensure all team members have access to the same information and understand the broader context of decisions. This reduces misinterpretations and promotes a shared understanding.

4. Implement Collaborative Problem-Solving: Bring the team together to brainstorm solutions when difficult issues arise. This not only helps resolve the problem but also reinforces a collaborative culture. I'm not saying there needs to be group decision-making on everything. But at the top of a high-stakes multimillion-dollar project, there should be some group agreement on priorities, schedules, and the ability to push back on things. When something goes wrong, there must be a way to pull the alarm, call a time-out, and reset. The team needs to come together to solve it.

These practices might feel simple to you. Obvious even. But it's the one we allow to slip first under pressure. Left unchecked, it can drive your team members siloed at an individual level, let alone at a team and departmental level.

Parting Thoughts

If your team has been struggling to leverage diverse perspectives to solve complex problems, consider how your group's communication dynamics play a role and how this can stem from misguided assumptions.

What if, instead of questioning motives, we questioned our assumptions? What if we made it a habit to ask, "What am I missing here?" instead of "Why did they do that?" This simple shift can unlock new levels of empathy and cooperation.

Embracing this mindset isn't just about improving team performance—it's about transforming the essence of working together. It's about creating an environment where every member feels valued and understood, where challenges are met with collective resilience, and where success is a shared journey.

Want to learn more of my best advice on how I create blueprints to build high-performing teams? Join our hands-on masterclass on June 27th, from 1:00 - 3:00 PM EST. Spots are filling out fast!