Grip

The handholds get less convenient as you go.  That always seems the way on a rock wall.  There’s plenty on the bottom, and that tricks you into starting up.  There’s enough in the middle, so you keep going.  You may have to move laterally, but a path can usually be found.  But there’s little to hang onto at the top.  That’s the way the top works, whether on a rock wall, or organization chart. 

Jeff Bills is here to facilitate a team-building session with the department heads.  Jeff’s with Confidence Consulting, and he’s been working with the department heads for a few months.   He’s stopped by to debrief me on the test I took on the way in and share some insight on the department heads who’ve also answered the hundreds of forced-choice questions on the Work Dynamics Inc. assessment.  Of the dozens of similar tests I’ve taken over the years, it was the most frustrating … and the most accurate.  The basis of the tool is you’ll revert to your natural tendencies in leadership, so it’s good to know what they are.  It’s even better for those who hire you to know.   

My debriefing’s over, so we made our way to the conference room for the team meeting.  Jeff’s an old catcher.  I’m an old centerfielder.  Without a word between us, we sit at opposite ends of the table.  That’s our natural tendency.  Jeff’s behind the plate, and I’m watching from centerfield.  He starts writing on the whiteboard.   The past is past.  Reaffirm mission and values.  Outcome-based results.  As he writes the words of the next bullet point, he asks “how to resolve disagreement?”

“Consult the organization chart”, the wise-cracking centerfielder offers up.  It’s a joke, and the fast laughter gives me some comfort everyone is quick on the uptake.  We’ll go on to talk about how resolving disagreement is based on shared positive values and desired outcomes rather than the org chart, and how tolerance for other points of view and emotionally letting go of past sleights - real and imagined – is necessary for teams to move forward.  It’s a good session, and I’m glad Seaside’s engaged in the effort.  Teamwork is the only way to succeed.

My third spin in the buck stops here chair of a local government, I reflect on how that essential truth wasn’t welcomed by some I worked with early on in other places.  It was every department for themselves, except for those who banded together as tribes.   Day to day operations were a soap-opera and annual budgets were full-on Lord of the Flies productions.  It got better - much better - as the Douglas County and Davenport teams improved but early on I was tempted (especially in Davenport) to just hand out the org chart at a department head meeting and ask if there were any questions.  

Luckily, that’s not my natural tendency. My natural tendency is to look for a handhold or foothold that’ll work.  What’s the point of leverage that’ll move the team forward?  What’s the best step the team can make now?  What’s the best way to strengthen the team so we can climb higher, faster in the future?

Those are the questions that matter, not where someone sits at a meeting or in the org chart of the moment.  The best work of an organization happens between the org chart boxes, not inside them.  People placed in leadership positions for the first time can forget this, tense up, and focus on establishing dominance.  That is – almost always – a huge mistake.  Enough problems will come your way that you don't have to create more by reinforcing that you're the boss.  Trust and teamwork are what makes it all go, and neither are given.  They're earned.  

They're best earned by accepting the risk and responsibility of leadership, and supporting team members, rather than tightly directing them.