Psychological Safety = High Performing Teams

Psychological safety is the foundation of high-performing teams because it invites vulnerability-based trust that is necessary to take risks, have healthy conflict, innovate, make good decisions and deliver collective results. With it teams thrive!

A recent Harvard Business Review article shares some research on how to engender psychological safety from a study on high-performing teams at Google:

1. Make friends with conflict as a collaborator, not an adversary. Ask yourself, what is trying to happen here vs. what is wrong.

2. Speak human to human. Meet each other as equals in your humanity regardless of title, class, gender, culture. Instead of thinking you are higher (better) or lower (worse) ask how is this person just like me?

3. Anticipate different perspectives. Focus on content not identity.

4. Replace judgment with curiosity. Go for understanding vs. being right.

5. Invite and give feedback. Illuminate blindspots productively. Capture lessons learned. Correct vs. punish.

6. Create team agreements on how you will handle conflict and mistakes.

Click here for the entire article "High Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety" by Laura Delizonna

Feed Forward instead of Back

Providing helpful feedback is a challenge for many leaders and teams. Why? We:

1. Limit it to a once a year annual review
2. Believe we will hurt someone's feelings 
3. Focus on the past vs. the future
4. Judge (what is wrong) instead of share an observation (what is)
5. Don't have feedback protocols or permissions in our team agreements
6. Discuss behavior only and miss impact
7. Muddle the communication for fear of reaction
8. Forget that we need others to help us see our blindspots 
9. Don't align feedback with desired results
10. Give one-way feedback instead of dialogue 
11. Wait too long to provide it

Feedback is a key practice on high-performing teams and not just from leader to team member. To address #3, shift your approach from feed "back" to feed "forward".  Instead of pointing out "what is wrong" (that often has a pinch of punishment energy to it) explore "what might be".  Instead of looking back at what can't be changed, look forward to what is possible.  

Try it for yourself with a direct report or colleague:

• Ask, "What is a behavior you would like to change or grow in? Why? And what difference would it make to goal achievement?"
• Brainstorm ideas and discuss solutions together 
• Invite him/her to select 2 ideas that most resonate to practice
• Discuss ways you can support

You may experience this as a generative, energizing experience and actually enjoy it. For more on FeedForward check out Marshall Goldsmith's research. Thanks to Liz for the discovery! 

Unspoken Rules?

Teams tend to implicitly follow the rules of a dominant operating system but rarely discuss what that structure is and if it is serves their goal achievement. David Kantor's research illuminates the structural dynamics in human systems. One element he asks us to consider is the unspoken rules (or ways of operating) that influence team performance. They are:

Closed: Prescriptive. Stability through control. Clearly defined roles. Strong, formal leadership. Emphasis on planning & execution. Top-driven decision making. Policy-oriented. Leader centric. Think Military.
Open: Freedom within Structure. Egalitarian participation. Everyone making a contribution. Shared leadership. Emphasis on collaboration. Process-oriented. Self-Directed. Think Montessori. 
Random: Generative. Exploration through improvisation. Lack of formal structure/process. Autonomy & individuality. Spontaneous bursts of energy. Emphasis on innovation. Transformation-oriented. Think Chaos Theory.

Which operating system do you prefer? What is the dominate system on your team? In your organization? Does each align or clash? How do these archetypes help or hinder results delivery?

Try not to judge or make one structure better than the other, as each has a time and place. Seek first to understand then consciously choose what system is optimal!

Source: Kantor Institute, Natarsha Hearn

DISC stressors and triggers

It is said that our greatest strength can be a blessing and a curse. At our best we are choosing the optimal strength for a given situation. Using DISC as a lens, we can apply direct, influencing, steady or conscientious action to achieve a desired result. During challenging times however, something changes in our inner world so a strength may express in an extreme or opposing manner.

When we are triggered by a situation, person or experience our emotional body is no longer being guided by our higher self and so we behave in seemingly confusing ways. Normal stress behaviors such as autocratic (for the D), attack (for the I), acquiesce (for the S) or avoid (for the C) don't provide the relief we seek and so we may apply a more dramatic strategy. We no longer care about our long-term desired result but are focused blindly on self-protection or preservation.

The D who is normally decisive and bold may move beyond the "normal" stress behavior of overbearing and exhibit the S's passive/aggressive tendency. The I who is wants to be involved may not attack but instead clam up like the C stressor tendency. The S who desires harmony may become agressive like the D under stress and the C who values respect and expertise may lash out like the I in stress. It seems that the stronger the trigger, the greater the opposing preference or reaction.

If we recognize that when we are triggered, we are actually in an altered or unconscious state (and in that moment are not able to recognize what is going on or what we really need) we can rely on awareness, understanding and humble pie to get back to center where answers are available and everything is possible.

Thanks to Lyndee for this insight!

From Dysfunction to Cohesiveness

If you want to cultivate team excellence, where do you start?

Patrick Lencioni has recently renamed the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team to the 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team. It is more than semantics because teams that operate as a unified, synergistic whole do outperform those that don't. And what we put our attention on grows!

Begin by considering 5 fundamental areas of influence. Does your team:

• Trust in a transparent, honest and vulnerable manner?
• Engage in unfiltered dialogue around ideas and different perspectives? 
• Commit to and align fully with decisions (even when they disagree)?
• Hold each other accountable to team agreements?
• Deliver quality results on time and in budget with enthusiasm?

We've found that high levels of trust, conflict competence, commitment, accountability and results-orientation do in fact contribute to team excellence if we focus on what we do want (cohesion) instead of what we don't (dysfunction).

What are you listening for?

Have you ever considered the purpose of your communication?

When you ask questions, is it to tell people what they want to hear, to debate or show how smart you are, to reflect back what you are hearing or to illuminate our knowingness?

And what are you listening for? Is it to be liked, to identify facts and differences, to understand the experience of another or to allow a deeper wisdom to reveal itself?

Notice the difference in your relationships and results when you download, debate, dialogue or delve deep. For more check out Otto Schwarmer's work at MIT.

Staying Clean Amidst Change

Change can bring out our best or our worst. When we are leaving a position, struggling with a new leader, managing a conflict or wrestling with a decision beyond our influence, how do we do the right thing when we don't feel like it? When our emotions are triggered and all over the board, how can we stay integral, get our needs met and not "burn any bridges?" 

Staying clean means managing our own emotional reactions without burdening or slandering others. It is the height of emotional intelligence. 

To stay clean amidst change, experiment with these ideas:

• Whether you are right or not, interact with compassion
• Bring love versus malice 
• Name/claim what is going on for you without projecting it on others
• Seek to resolve creatively rather than reactively
• Define reality (including constraints) and make choices that benefit all 
• Manage your own emotional reactions productively and don’t collude with others about the situation 
• Focus on what you can influence
• Share what is going on with you so others don't take it personally
• Do your job well
• Avoid the tendency to gossip, complain, or defend
• Meet challenge from a neutral or centered place
• Name what you are feeling and seek to resolve without blame
• Focus on lessons learned instead of mistakes
• Don’t take sides or expect others to do so either
• Breathe deeply, pause

If you can look your adversary (or those involved) in the eye AND face yourself in the mirror, you are clear, clean and will sleep better too!

Re-Union

I was reminded of the value of human connection in a workshop with www.crrglobal.com. That we yearn for and deeply appreciate a sense of relatedness (especially at work) is profound.

So, we may miss the point in all our efforts to learn and apply communication, conversation and feedback skills. While important, what seems to matter most is the intention or attitude that we bring to our interactions with others.

If we say all the right things in the perfect order but miss the stance (or metaskill) of respect, inquiry, genuine curiosity, understanding or awareness, we miss giving (and receiving) the gift of our humanity and what springs from it.

To experience the tone or energy of connection for yourself, check out this 3 minute ad called Reunion.

Paying Attention To Culture

If culture is the glue that holds people together and can generate or thwart performance, we need to pay more attention to its often invisible power.

Culture is the essence or spirit of a team, department or organization. It is a specific collection of values, norms, fears, beliefs, assumptions, rules & meanings (spoken/unspoken, written/unwritten, formal/informal) that intentionally or unintentionally influence behavior and results delivery.

Katzenbach provides some insight in his HBR article “Culture Change That Sticks” http://hbr.org/2012/07/cultural-change-that-sticks/ar/1 He recommends we:

1. Match Strategy and Culture – Does the DNA of your organization align with your current value proposition?
2. Focus on a few critical behavior shifts – What three (not 25) behaviors most reflect your mission, vision and values?
3. Honor (and validate) the strengths of your existing culture- What makes you unique and differentiates the way employees believe, feel, think, act?
4. Utilize and integrate formal and informal interventions – Are formal mechanisms (reporting structures, decision rules, comp/benefits and company events, etc.) aligned with informal practices (leadership modeling, cross-functional networks, manager/employee connections, storytelling, etc.)
5. Measure and monitor cultural evolution. Make it easy to notice when culture is helping or hindering performance by checking in on it. What do you feel in the office, hear on the phone (underneath the words), observe in interactions and sense in communications? 

Thanks Natarsha for the resource!

Craftsmanship on Teams

If you strive for excellence on your team consider the craftsmanship of Sushi Shokunin, Sukiyabashi Jiro. A Shokunin is a master of a profession-an artisan.

In the docu-movie, Jiro Dreams of Sushi you’ll note a care, commitment, focus and passion for the art of making Sushi. There is a grace, beauty, elegance and taste to Jiro’s work that generates buzz and a month’s wait to dine at his Sushi restaurant in Tokyo.

All Jiro, wants to do is “make better Sushi.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2L5IrkQTV0

To instill more craftsmanship on your team, apply Jiro’s insights by answering the following questions with your team:

·      Where is the artistry in your team’s work?

·      How do you inspire and deliver originality?

·      Where would a consistent practice, process or focus optimize results?

·      How do you define and monitor quality?

·      What motivates you?

·      What do you make better?

Valuing Introversion on Teams

If a third to half of the US population is introverted and we need to come together to innovate and solve problems, it behooves us to better understand the value of introversion.

In Susan Cain’s Ted Talk http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/about-the-book/ she states that the US culture tends to value “action over contemplation.” She also distinguishes between shyness and introversion.

“Shyness is fear of social judgment. Introversion is more about how we respond to stimulation. Introverts tend to feel the most alive when they are in quieter, solitude environments.”

A colleague of mine described it like this, “When someone asks you a question, the whiteboard of your mind starts filling in the blanks. You become energized. When someone asks me a question, my whiteboard is blank. So I panic if there is pressure to answer immediately. It takes me a while to collect my thoughts.”

If you want to maximize the talent on your team, find the right “zone of stimulation” that is right for each team member. Ms. Cain’s suggests the following ways to honor the value of introversion:

• Stop the madness for constant group work. Provide time, space, privacy and autonomy for people to work alone.
• Go to the wilderness. Unplug and get inside your own head and heart and reconnect to natural rhythms.
• Stop faking it. Acknowledge and claim the strengths of introversion in yourself and others.