You already know I think — no, I know — you can thrive in this “new normal” that we’re all experiencing together.
And please be sure to read all the way to bottom of this post, as I’m hoping you’ll join me and others who’ve already done so as we work on some things together.
As I’ve told several folks, I’m grateful my team has rallied around what we do, but I’m afraid not all teams are going to be so fortunate in the near future.
What I mean, leaders and friends, is that if your team’s not committed, these next few months will tell you.
That, or when things start to get back to normal(ish), they’ll start leaving in droves.
I just led a webinar for a couple hundred folks — mostly managers, leaders, and executives — on how to lead and engage teams remotely, especially during a crisis.
Having worked remotely for years, and having been involved in culture, leadership & professional development, coaching, and future of work stuff for even longer (in addition to my work in branding and content creation), I can tell you how these things tend to go.
If you study it long enough, human behavior, team and organizational dynamics, and so on are both complex and — especially if you’re dealing with the same group of people over time — somewhat predictable, if you’re paying attention.
What I mean is this: you can absolutely learn your team and organization. More on that in another post (or twelve).
That’s important because as you get to know your team as human beings, you connect with them, build an actual team (not just a group of production units), and can eventually become a group of humans united by more than simply a common payroll system.
Know this: People want to buy in. They really do. It’s just that so often, we don’t give them anything to buy into.
People want to buy in. It’s just that too often, we don’t give them anything to buy into. #leadership #companyculture #management #futureofwork
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HERE’S HOW LEADERS CAN GET TEAM BUY IN
CLARIFY YOUR CAUSE TO GET TEAM BUY IN
Some might call it your purpose — why you’re in business in the first place.
Call it whatever you want, but solid, strategic leaders remind their teams why they’re doing what they’re doing all the time, but especially during a crisis.
LEADERS CAN GET TEAM BUY IN BY ENCOURAGING HUMANNESS
We do this in several ways, many of which you’ve heard me discuss at length multiple times before, and that’s because they’re critically important. They’re even more so right now. And it’s not just me who thinks so.
One of the biggest ways we can encourage humanness, though, is to do the next thing, which is to…
BE VULNERABLE TO GET TEAM BUY IN
This popped up on the webinar I referenced above, and it was funny, because a friend of mine and leader I respect a great deal — Shawn Temple —made an incredibly insightful — and hilarious — comment during the webinar.
We were discussing how to better engage our teams, what it looks like to be truly human, and then it went something like this:
First, someone brought up how important it is to simply admit you don’t know something if, in fact, you don’t know something.
Then, others concurred, following which, an exchange took place.
Attendee: I think you win credibility when you say “I don’t know.”
Shawn: Then I am super-credible.
Me: {Nearly had to mute my mic so the folks on the webinar didn’t hear me snort laughing.}
But you see, that’s actually precisely what I’m talking about: the ability to not take ourselves too seriously. We have to be able to embrace the fact that, as human beings, we’re (wonderfully) imperfect; and as such, we’re never going to have all the answers.
You saying you don’t happen to possess all the knowledge in the universe will not be shocking news to anyone. Why we sometimes put so much effort into hiding things like that is beyond me. (Actually, it’s not; I did it for most of my life. It’s hard work attempting to act like you have it all put together. I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s soooo exhausting.)
Coincidentally, when leaders and their teams are more human and vulnerable, it helps produce the next one on our list.
LEADERS CAN GET TEAM BUY IN BY BUILDING PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
Create a context within which your team not only hears you say it’s ok to say or do whatever it is you’re saying it’s ok for them to say or do, but also where they actually see and feel that it’s been and continues to be actually, in real life, ok to say and do whatever those things are.
There’s a big difference between the former and the latter.
And right now, you need your team to feel (and actually be) safe, because you need to be agile.
You need to try things.
You need to try again (after the inevitable failure of this or that tried thing).
If folks are feeling trepidatious (Yes, my fellow logophiles, I had to double-check Merriam-Webster on the form of that one, too) right now, it doesn’t bode well for the organization as a whole navigating this crisis.
Another reason all of the above is so very important right now is because you absolutely need your team to have built the requisite, real-deal trust necessary for…
HAVING HEALTHY CONFLICT AROUND STRATEGIES, TACTICS, AND IDEAS
Want real, honest-to-goodness commitment (not just compliance) from your team?
Try having actual, healthy ideological (read: not personal) conflict around ideas prior to asking for commitment.
In fact, right now, you really need that conflict — those discussions within which alternative strategies and ideas are presented and advocated for — right now because that’s the only way you’re going to (1) filter through bad ideas and (2) make good ideas better [don’t read: perfect].
That’s also how teams get excited about committing to something together — it’s something they’ve chewed through and come up with together.
Then they lock arms and go.
I mean, come on. Who doesn’t appreciate a Monty Python reference?
LEADERS CAN GET TEAM BUY IN BY MAKING SURE EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
This is always important, but think about what’s happening right now in everyone’s minds. Things are likely absolutely swirling.
So be clear about what success looks like. Here’s what it is, here’s how it’s measured, and here’s what your role in it is.
Boom.
Leaders, be sure folks know what success looks like, how it’s measured, and what their role in it is. #leadership #companyculture #teamwork #futureofwork
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LEADERS CAN GET TEAM BUY IN BY CELEBRATING PROGRESS AND SUCCESS TOGETHER
Notice there are two things there. Progress and success.
When teammates are truly in it together, they’ll celebrate both progress toward objectives, as well as ultimate success in reaching those objectives.
Doing those things builds commitment.
Great leaders celebrate both progress AND success. #leadership #companyculture #teamwork #management
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INVEST IN EACH OTHER’S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Teammates are having to adapt to not only changing work environments, but also sometimes changing work responsibilities.
Additionally, with so many organizations pivoting in ways large and small, people all over are taking on tasks of varying sizes that they may not feel entirely prepared for from either a knowledge or experience perspective.
What’s cool is that with everything going on, there’s almost a sort of freedom now for folks to take on new things — to learn, to grow, to adapt.
With everything that’s going on, there’s a certain freedom now for you to take on new things — to learn, grow, and adapt. #leadership #personalbranding #career
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Teams who do this together — teams who dig in, lock arms, and are actively and intentionally engaged with helping each other learn and grow — will be the teams who not only outperform each other now, but also in the long run.
LEADERS CAN GET BUY IN BY BUILDING COMMUNITY
This will take new methods now, of course; and we’re already seeing that happen.
I won’t belabor this, as I have another post in the works on this, but it’s one of the tenets of servant leadership philosophy. Building community is such an important thing, and it plays a pivotal role when the time comes for gaining buy in.
CULTIVATE AN OTHERS-ORIENTED CULTURE
When a team and/or organization is comprised of people who are others-oriented, those teammates have become naturally inclined to look out for their teammates’ best interests, the good of the whole, and opportunities to serve.
Teams like that are geared toward committing together, as I’ve pointed out previously.
JOIN US
Leaders, I’m gathering likeminded folks together to build community, learn and grow, and hopefully do some cool stuff together related to culture, the future of work, and employee experience.
Whether you’re a leader or not, now is the time to make a difference. You can thrive in this new normal, and there are plenty of opportunities to serve your team and organization in the process. I’m doing some work around that as well, and I’m looking for other who want to do the same.
