Healthy Teams All Have This in Common
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Let’s talk about something: Healthy teams can say real sh*t.
One thing that I think makes teams almost invulnerable and free of dysfunction and toxicity is the ability for people to say what needs to be said, and for everybody else on that team to be able to hear that with open, receptive, curious ears.
This is a mix of growth mindset, and being averse to saving face and having ego.
It’s about everyone on the team asking how can we improve, how can we be better, increase our emotional intelligence, understand the impact of our responses on other people, and how that impacts our relationships.
Here’s the goal:
For anyone on a team to be able to give direct feedback and say, "Hey, I think this is something as a team that we actually are really weak at, we struggle with or that we suck at,” and trust that their team will respond with an open mind.
Here’s the deal: You don't have to agree with the feedback.
As a colleague, and times ten as a leader, it’s extremely important to possess the quality where anyone you work with, including (especially) your employees, can come to you and say, “Hey, I think you're a bad listener. You shoot down all my ideas," and you will respond well.
No matter what the criticism is, that somebody can say something to you that they would be afraid to tell someone else and they trust that your response will always be, Tell me more about that. Let's explore that. Let me understand that. Let me make that better. Let's talk about that relationship. Let's talk about that dynamic.
If somebody truly has that as a quality, as a colleague, as a friend, as a partner, in a romantic relationship, as a leader, it makes you invulnerable.
That response communicates, “I want to hear the things that you have to say that aren't great so we can talk about that. I don't necessarily agree with you, but let's get to the heart of that if that's your observation, if that's your experience here, we can fix it.”
This comes back to psychological safety.
I can say the real thing that needs to be said, knowing that the people around me will receive it well, and hear it with receptive ears. I won't feel judged, or shamed, or punished for having an outlier opinion.
When that element exists inside teams, we innovate better, we brainstorm better, we find solutions better.
Nobody leaves the thing that needs to be said left unsaid.
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop