How To Keep Your Team Sick
I picked up a nasty flu a few weeks ago, but afterwards I found out that I been keeping myself sick by taking cough medicine. It sounds ridiculous that cough medicine could actually make you sicker, right? Day after day I dutifully took my foul-tasting cough syrup but my condition only got worse. It was then that someone told me the difference between a “cough suppressant” and an “expectorant”. A cough suppressant deals with the symptom- a cough. That’s fine if you’ve just got a dry cough, but if you’ve got junk in your chest that’s causing you to cough then you need to deal with the cause not just the symptom. Within a day of taking an expectorant I was finally on the mend.
I wonder if you’re keeping your team sick? Perhaps in the busyness of it all you are just dealing with symptoms in your team instead of causes. Any time we as leaders react to behaviours or results of our team without addressing the causes we run the risk of prolonging the problem.
So what does it look like to deal with causes instead of only the symptoms?
Example 1: Team Conflict
Symptoms focus – The leader tries to calm people down. Perhaps give someone time off. Separate the people who are fighting. Keep the conflict away from the rest of the team. The goal is removing the conflict.
Cause focus – The leader seeks out what actually caused the conflict. Honest conversations need to be had. What are the individuals’ responsibilities here? And what about the organisation; what is our role in healing this situation? Is this an ongoing, unresolved issue that’s flaring up? What is this really a symptom of? The goal is addressing the source of the conflict.
Example 2: Job Dissatisfaction.
Symptoms focus – Give the unhappy employee a bonus. Let them whinge about the company because you might lose them if they were confronted. Put a new espresso machine in the staff room. Make promises about how great the future is going to be.
Cause focus – Give real consideration to why the person is unhappy. Are they a good match for their job? Do they need a change or a new challenge? Is the job the source of unhappiness or something else in their life? How well do I understand what motivates them and what their goals are? Is it simply time for them to move on, or is this a chance to reinvent their role?
I need to point out that some of the “symptoms” strategies above could be completely appropriate if all you’re dealing with is a surface issue. Every issue doesn’t need to have a witch-hunt and long therapy sessions to find the hidden causes. But it’s a reckless and short-sighted leader who turns a blind eye to the possibility that this cough might need more than a suppressant.
- So, what might you be suppressing in your team rather than dealing with the cause?
- Are you being reactive or proactive when it comes to the culture of your team?
- Write a short list now of any areas in your team where underlying problems are unaddressed. Then this week consciously switch your leadership focus from the symptoms to the cause.
I’d love to hear your comments and feedback
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Tags: Conflict Resolution, Executive Coach, Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Leadership Development, Leadership Training, Team Building
July 27th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Once again – great insight Paul!
Just remember folks that sometimes one of your team members may know the underlying causes of the conflict. If you as a leader assume you are the only one who can diagnose the real problem, you may cause further pain, instead of listening and learning from your staff and starting the healing process. I have noticed that this is particularly true when those you lead are leaders themselves.
July 28th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Yes very true. And yes they know the causes before we do. My team members are leaders themselves – two of three of them. I had to ask one to inhibit herself from our on- going project due to conflict of interest. My decision was collaborated by her husband in a diagnostic meeting we had after the conflict was exposed by her acts in the process of project implementation. Leadership is responsibility. It’s like carrying the load. Our great advantage is we know who to trade it for.
I was caught in a difficult situation of having guests for TV taping last Sunday from out of town. Because I lost the one member in this project, the other two are busy, I had to do it all. I was shocked to know only that morning the studio transferred two days before and not ready for the taping. I had to work it out with the studio staff to set up fast. Taping was delayed for three hours. But I was very still and all went well. I experienced this great feeling of being deeply still knowing that God is my Leader for the first time.
A team member who is also a leader does not follow. I walk back then alongside her to our goal but move forward and keep the focus for the team always. Leadership is complicated but if we know Jesus, and God, we know what leadership is.
July 30th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I really enjoyed number two. Expanding off of that point, I will put forth that sometimes the “root cause” for job dissatisfaction” is that people just don’t have any experience with hard work or performing to high standards. So the dissatisfaction is stemming from the disconnect between their preconceived notion of this job being a cakewalk, and then finding out that it is actually pretty tough.
Now, as a leader do you need to “let up” on them? No. Why? Because you, as a leader, are responsible for the whole organization. Yes, you are responsible for helping to develop them into a true professional who takes pride in their work and enjoys their job. However, they also have the obligation to “meet you half way.”
My point is just that the employee is just as responsible as the leader for treating root causes that are within their own power to treat.
Enjoyed it,
-Kyle
August 4th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I love your writing style. I can hear your voice in your words. Clever you!! Thanks for the medicine.