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31 Days to Becoming a Better Leader

Relationships

Day #18: Getting Team “Buy-In”Synergy

Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses and their concerns without fear of reprisal. – Patrick Lencioni

Patrick Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team:

  • Dysfunction #1: Absence of Trust
  • Dysfunction #2: Fear of Conflict
  • Dysfunction #3: Lack of Commitment
  • Dysfunction #4: Avoidance of Team Accountability
  • Dysfunction #5: Inattention to Team Objectives

To have a high-performing team, each member must have buy-in. All of the five dysfunctions above can be addressed with the following steps.

The buy-in begins with strategy. The leader (that’s you) holds and communicates the vision. It’s also your duty to forecast the future by defining the long-term strategic objectives. Now it’s time for the team to be engaged with the planning process.

It’s the notion of the leader (remember, we’re been taught things wrong and have inherited systems that aren’t working) to do all of the planning, and then hand out the plan with implementation details to the team.

Here’s where we cut them off at the knees…they have expertise, they have value in skills and as a person, they can solve problems and think creatively, they are subject matter experts, they have varying implementation skills…and so forth. So, why in the world do you think you have to create the entire plan in a vacuum?

When team members create the plan they own the plan and they bring accountability to the plan.

Develop Healthy Process:

Relationships becomesProcess

Process createsTrust

Trust formsCommunity

Community buildsRelationships

Team process:

  • Guidelines – Let the team define their own rules of engagement or working process guidelines.
  • Goals – Set team goals for productivity and satisfaction.
  • Action Plans – Create action plans to support the company goals as a team.
  • Consensus – Learn and teach consensus.
  • Power Meetings – No more boring meetings, which is the number one killer of power teams (Day #20).
  • Communicate – Communication is based on relationship and not on data.
  • Celebrate – Set aside time to celebrate milestones accomplished.
  • Lead, lead, lead – That’s you.

Next: Day #19 – Team Performance Covenant

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