Last week I shared my Team Member Fact Sheet and 3 tips for using it to build healthy relationships with your team. Now, here are the 3 main reasons leaders will not use this with their teams based on my experience:
- No time in the agenda: I have gotten used to going to meetings with teams and having my time cut down with them because things ‘run over’ or hot topics appear. I once had a 90-minute key note workshop shrunk to 45 minutes because the speaker before me ran over. Front load this time and give it the time it deserves. Business issues will always be there, and imagine how much harder it will be to solve them if your best people leave because they have no connections with peers.
- Too nervous about the legality of asking these questions: I feel compelled to give the caveat that this sheet is a post-hire sheet because these questions are not considered legal if asked during the interview process (birthday and family, for example). I only say that because I know someone will use it as a pre-hire questionnaire if I don’t say it, and yet that is the only issue with asking these questions. Remember – the leader always shares theirs first.
- Resistance to the ‘squishy’ team building stuff: My experience is that adults complain about these activities like teenagers complain about family vacations, so push through the initial resistance and wait until after you’ve done it to evaluate. Every group has one voice questioning the value of doing this activity. As an experienced facilitator, I have learned to listen to them but move forward anyway. About 80% of the time, that same voice says they came into the activity skeptical, but were glad they took the time to do it because of what they learned. The other 20% are probably the one person on the team that needs to leave the organization.
Committed people-centered leaders inherently know that honest conversations followed by thoughtful actions lead to improved performance. Those of you that use the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS®) – this means you!
Listen . . . Lead. Repeat often!