A521.6.3.RB - High Performance Teams

This week we are discussing collaboration and high performance teams. High performance teams have  a few elements that differentiate them from regular teams. As taken from Stephen Denning's The Leader's Guide to Storytelling these teams have the following: actively shape the expectations of those who use their output, rapidly adjust their performance to the changing needs of the situation, they become stronger with time as members learn to anticipate, mutual concern means individuals grow, interpersonal commitments fuel performance, and shared passion (Denning, 2011). In essence these teams produce a synergy, that great buzzword. However, synergy is a real thing that can exist and when it occurs, teams truly do perform. 

I was recently part of a high-performance team, although we didn't call it such. It wasn't a large team, but it shared common goals, passions, and most importantly, the members truly cared what happened to one another. That caring is what allowed the team to function through some turbulent waters. It was exhilarating to say the least. Recently, after a year, that team has appeared to end and I must say it was gut wrenching. There is, for me, a profound sense of loss. It isn't often that I connect emotionally and such things are frightening. No one likes to be vulnerable. It's when we are vulnerable that bad things happen to us. However, that openness with one another is what allows the team to succeed in the first place. 

In this team I used the assertive style of communication outlined in Messages: The Communications Skills Book by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, and Patrick Fanning, though I didn't have a name for it. (McKay et al, 2009)I asserted my needs and how I felt about a given  topic and respected the thoughts and feelings that were offered as input. It was difficult at first but through relating some of my own life experiences I was able to build a connection that strengthened over time.  Assertive and open communication gets easier with practice. 

At the end the outcomes were out of my hands though at times they far exceeded anything I thought I was capable of. I did the best job I knew how to do and I'd join the team again in a flash if offered the opportunity. Having been on both regular teams and a high performance team I know which one I prefer. As someone that now knows how rare they are I am saddened to see it go. 

A521.5.4.RB - Aligning Values

Organizations must align their values with their actions. Or better said, align actions with values. Values and actions on an individual level are one thing, but creating a value system and transmitting that across an entire organization is something else. Stephen Denning in The Leader's Guide to Storytelling puts forth the idea of ethical communities and that ethical communities have three basic components: trust, loyalty, and solidarity (Denning, 2011).

I like the idea of viewing an organization as an ethical community, this begins the process of moving from a simply profit-based organization to an organization based on values. The two aren't mutually exclusive, Denning mentions several value based organizations that are doing quite well; The Body Shop, Costco, and Ben and Jerry's are among those mentioned.

Getting back to the three ethical values. These values are certainly expressed in my organization but not all to the same degree. Trust is pretty evident in my organization. Managers refrain from micro-managing, co-workers are generally kind and trusting to one another, and I feel that I can trust the chain of command to make choices that consider my needs. The recent government shutdown demonstrated they are willing to stretch to keep workers on the payroll and limit negative impacts. This also demonstrates a certain loyalty. Loyalty is created through trust so trust must be present. I argue that trust is the central pillar of Denning's three tenants and without it, the other two can't exist.

Solidarity is trickier. While I trust that the people in the organization will stick by each other even when it is more expedient to not do so builds solidarity. However, consistently low wages are an issue and when people are not paid enough to move up Maslow's Hierarchy (i.e. they are still worried about housing and security) cracks start to form in the solidarity feature. At a certain point people will go into "survival mode" and start to look out for themselves. This is the opposite of what solidarity hopes to achieve. All in all I would say solidarity is transmitted through trust and loyalty but it is probably the weakest of the three.

Therein lies the trouble. Denning's model relies on all three to be equally present. Ethical communities require a synergistic relationship among all its parts. For me it is simply an awareness of how I can work to achieve these three values. Since they build on themselves, improving one can help to improve the others. I can't affect pay but I can affect trust and loyalty. By improving those two perhaps I can create more solidarity.

Denning, S. (2011). The leader's guide to storytelling. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass. 

A.521.4.3 Meta-messages and Hidden Agendas

This post will be organized into two parts but they are related in that both meta-messaging and hidden agendas are part of communication. In order to get at what a speaker's hidden agenda may be you have to understand the meta-message and how to read it.

I am going to paraphrase meta-messaging as defined in McKay, Davis, & Fanning's work Messages (2009). Meta-Messages are the sum of the whole message as delivered via body language, tone, inflection, rhythm, word choice, and the speaker's actual voice. When these various components are in line with one another the message and the speaker's enthusiasm and positive emotional state come through clearly and the speaker is engaged. When these are not in line the message may be garbled or even heard in a light completely opposite of what the speaker intended. I think that most people are aware of their emotional state and how to indicate that through their inflection and body language however public speaking or sales meetings are a unique environment where the speaker has to be in total control how his or her message is delivered through all channels of communication.

In this excited or nervous state it can be easy to intone a sentence incorrectly and give the wrong message to to the listener. For one-way communication this is something that just takes practice and self-awareness, however in two-way communication it becomes crucial that you are able to sort the message correctly. This takes even more emotional intelligence than one-way speaking as now you are listening and working with internal bias, filters, and emotions. McKay, Davis, and Fanning suggest the listeners be sure and ask for clarification of the actual message in order to ensure better communication (78-79).

Hidden agendas are not the nefarious thing you may have been thinking all along. We aren't talking sales but rather the internal motivators for people. McKay et al divide agendas into eight categories: I'm Good, I'm Good (But You're Not), You're Good (But I'm Not), I'm Helpless, I'm Blameless, I'm Fragile, I'm Tough, I know it All. These all manifest in the message. For example You're Good (But I'm Not) looks like flattery but it is often coupled with self-deprecating statements. "Can you collate these files? I'm horrible at organization."  According to McKay el al these serve two purposes (p.86) one to set your stance and place and the second to promote ulterior motives. These motives may be a simple as making a friend or as complex as negotiating sales arrangements. 

As leaders it is important to hear what people are saying, their meta-message, and what their hidden agenda really is. If a follower sees themselves a certain way their may be an opportunity for transformational leadership or esteem building. We can place people in roles that play to their strengths (as they seem them) and also to challenge them with growth. 

Lastly, we can listen and communicate with sincerity when we hear ALL of what the person is saying. As one who believes in transformational leadership being able to form those connections is critical to trust building. 

McKay , M., Davis, M., & Fanning, P. (2009). Messages the communication skills book. (3rd ed.). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

521.3.4 Formative Stories.

This week I have been asked to pick three stories from my past that have had a formative impact on my life and how they relate to organizational leadership.

 The first story is a story I tell quite often to my clients and the following are my own words from a class discussion. Before I joined the Air Force I was a steelworker. After Sept 11th the US diverted funds from projects that contributed to infrastructure and decided to spend all of that money on a war and the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. This led to a cascade of layoffs in the private sector that built the roads and building infrastructure projects support. I was one of those laid off. At first I thought I would be able to find another job but the industry was in severe contraction. To make matters worse, reductions in funds to retraining programs meant that I was unable to learn new skills. After robbing from Peter to pay Paul for a few months I was evicted from my apartment. I had found work as a bartender but service industry jobs really don't pay a living wage. After living in a van for almost two months I began to believe that was my fate, that was all I was good for. No one wanted me, I was damaged goods. My credit was shot; my mother would occasionally help with small things but it was a constant internal struggle for me to overcome my shame and guilt. I had no addictions, just a crushing existence that began to affect my sense of self-worth in a very severe manner. When I joined the service for career training I was initially declined for poor credit. I had to scrape and find around $3,000 to pay some of my debt. My father decided to give me a loan at this point. I was very lucky. This has helped me understand the difficulties people face in overcoming obstacles. While I was homeless I hid a great deal of my pain behind a smiling face and charming manner.

When I meet new people or in a managerial setting, I often take a moment to remind myself that the exterior of a person may not be the real person. They may be facing challenges that they are hiding. This helps to begin the listening process as I am reducing my own barriers to communication.

 Another formative story occurred in my early childhood and involved Mrs. Gast, my math teacher. Mrs. Gast was a no-nonsense-take-no-prisoners teacher. Fair and firm she tolerated no dissension in the ranks and woe to the student that failed to memorize their multiplication tables. One fine morning I was distracted by writing some poetry into my notebook when I realized that Mrs. Gast, all 5'2'' of her, was striding in my direction. I can assure you that even at that modest height she was Paul Bunyan and the ax wasn't far behind. She stopped at my desk, grabbed my notebook, read for a bit, and told me to remain after class for a discussion. Discussions with Mrs. Gast were never discussions in the traditional sense; they were the Inquisition. The bell rang, the class filed out, some casting glances at their former student, possibly wondering what their first funeral will entail. Mrs. Gast asked me to come with her to a file cabinet where she withdrew two or three composition notebooks and handed them to me. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to keep practicing my writing. And that was that. No further words were spoken. I was gobsmacked to say the least. I later won a Young Author's award that year.

 This has taught me that people have abilities that need nurturing. Talent, in anyone, begs to be used. It screams at the brain until the brain acquiesces and uses that talent. I'm not a rich author, but I do like to compose from time to time. I feel that everyone has talents and we need to allow them room to develop them.

 Lastly, we journey to a time when I was a brand new Watch Supervisor in an Air Traffic Control facility. For those that don't know what that entails, the short version is that the Watch Supervisor is responsible for all the operations and all the personnel inside the facility. In essence the buck stops at that desk, be it a good or bad one. It was a otherwise normal afternoon when the Chief Master Sergeant in charge of the Sun and Moon (as far as I was concerned) came into the facility to ask about the status of a trainee that was on shift. I responded "I don't know". If any managers are reading this you know that this is the wrong answer. The Chief informed me in the most delicate manner that I best become informed of this trainee's status or I would be a trainee again myself. I learned really quickly about being aware of my area of control.

 This Chief reminded me that as a manager I have a responsibility for the people and property I oversee. It wasn't that I didn't care about that trainee, it was that I appeared to not care about that trainee and that is almost worse. From this I have learned that we must always be aware. We must care about the people we manage and we have to demonstrate that care so that they can trust we have their needs in our minds as well.

Danger of Stories

In this week's class we are studying the power of stories as well as the limitations of speaking and how people listen. The jury is out on how just how much people "listen" by usage of body language versus spoken word. As a matter of fact two of texts contradict each other on this idea. The Professional Communicators Toolkit (Whalen) says 75% of communication is body language, while Denning's The Leader's Guide to Storytelling pretty much says Mehrabian, the guy responsible for the study that came up with that number, derived that from a specific set of laboratory environments and added a great deal of extrapolation. I'm inclined to agree with Denning as I have interacted with people with whom there is a significant language barrier and while my posture, facial expressions, and gestures may indicate mood and intent they cannot deliver meaning. To assign a number to that seems meaningless. There is no doubt that body language is crucial to communication but to pin a number to it would be an attempt to quantify a variable that exists on a sliding scale.

Another distinct limitation is something I am going to call the Storyteller's Myopia. I will elaborate on that more below but it relates to the video of a novelist's experience with what she calls the "single story." Chimamanda Adiche gave a talk on the dangers of the single story. Before I elaborate on communication and stories it will help to understand Adiche's point. People will draw conclusions on things that are foreign to them based upon the stories that they are told regarding that subject. In her case she had drawn conclusions about Mexico that weren't accurate. Likewise she had encountered the dangers of the single story while interacting with her roommate. This gets into ethnocentric behaviors that aren't germane to THIS entry but need to be addressed in the greater scheme of leadership. Modern organizations may span the globe and ethnocentric attitudes are a barrier to effective leadership.

 What Adiche is also saying and what I am going to call the Storyteller's Myopia is as a storyteller you need to be aware that the stories you tell are going to influence your listeners in many ways. You want to take care to not interject ethnocentric ideas into your stories. Also you want to be aware of how your actions within a story may be perceived by your listeners. The rule "know your audience" is just as important here as well.