Less Tech talk…more Human…
For every Leader reflecting and planning for the year ahead, one aspect I strongly encourage you to lean into is your Team.
Why? Because when you have a team that communicates well, prioritises effectively, and is driven by trust, your goals and vision become much more courageous, and by the same token much easier to achieve.
How do you know if you have a Tech Team Blindspot?
You know there is more in your people but just cant quite nail why they are not performing. If this is the case, you may have a blindspot that is holding your people back from brilliant outcomes. Here are some core symptoms to consider:
People are paralysed by the extent of their tech knowledge and the sheer wave of new information and technology opportunities coming through.
There is ambiguity or confusion on what success actually looks like - whether digital transformation, project roll out or roadmap milestones. This lack of aligned clarity seriously hampers investments, focus and results.
Teams, particularly tech teams are not getting the opportunity to truly form as Leaders and trusted experts in the business:
Decisions don't get made or take too long to decide on
Meetings unleash blame games or worse, no real participation, with people sitting on their laptops deeming email responses more important than being present in the room.
Discussions lack real direction and people seem to just want to get to the end.
What can you do about it?
In Patrick Lencioni’s book ‘The Five dysfunctions of a Team’ he eloquently highlights the five dysfunctions of a team that can derail any company and team.
Below I attempt to summarise these and give examples of them in action:
Absence of Trust: Trust is where each team member believes they can speak openly and honestly without repercussions as their team has good intentions. I also like to talk about trust as ‘when your words and actions match’. It requires vulnerability and work. An absence of trust is apparent when your team members are spending more time worrying about how to ‘frame’ their conversation so that nothing can be interpreted incorrectly or used against them at a later stage. This is very costly as your team members wont take risks, wont look to collaborate and often wont ask for help, leading to burnout and sub par outcomes.
Fear of Conflict: Despite so much talk and training around giving and receiving feedback (I do like a good Radical Candor model!) there can be a severe avoidance of giving open, honest, vulnerable opinions that are ultimately for the benefit of the business. When there is fear of conflict, meetings are boring and tick-the-box exercises. When you have an open and positive conflict regarding something, innovation and creativity level up everything as well as the energy in the room!
Lack of Committment In the technology world, collaboration, or what I call radical collaboration is essential to drive the success of projects and strategies. If your people are leaving meetings frustrated that decisions havent been made, or priorities are not clear (and crucially, aligned to the business priorities), then you most likely have a lack of commitment problem. A key thing to remember is that you cant and wont have all the answers before you can commit as a team. It is only by taking the first step that you understand what is needed next, and commit accordingly.
Avoidance of accountability If there are certain people on your team that seem to just behave in a certain way, this could be damaging the integrity and potential of your team. I see this often in tech teams where it can be deemed more acceptable to be blunt or just communicate via emails or IM. To the title of this blog - we are all human and hiding behind stereotypes is not good for anyone including the perpetrator.
Inattention to results this is where you see people on your team (possibly also leaders or managers) focus more on their individual outcomes rather than the collective results of the team. This can show up as a drive for status in the organisation or getting easily distracted by the latest shiny object/ cool tech project.
Where to start?
So with these five dysfunctions, start with looking at what resonated with you most. A guiding principle in all of this work is to assume nothing, create clarity around everything, hold everyone equally accountable and lead through doing.
A great starting point can be to develop and create Team Contracts highlighting what is in and out of scope when it comes to acceptable behaviour. In previous work, I have even created slider scales where Execs through to Team Leads can mark where they believe the team is sitting in terms of living up to their values or not. The result? A marked increase in their quarterly internal employee NPS, including comments around how much more ‘clear and empowered’ their staff feel.
Coaching and feedback sessions are extremely valuable also - I strongly recommend some real world applied learning over theoretical scenarios to get the breakthrough you are looking for faster. Rip the band aid off!
Finally - remove the tech overlay and get to the human. There is nothing more disempowering or a sure-fire way to get your investments put on ice than to make an Exec or Leader feel stupid, ill-informed or overwhelmed.
Your communications and connection can be one of the most important levers you pull in leading technology in the business. Make sure you use it wisely!