5 years ago, I had the privilege to sit across from a CEO in what began as a very unlikely and yet powerful conversation. The conversation was not an easy one, as he articulated what he wanted most for his organization – the culture and for his staff . He was caught in a paradox that many in positions of executive leadership are when things are pretty good. Is it better just to keep things the same? Status quo isn’t bad. How do I dare dream for more? Ask for more? Do I deserve more? What if as a result of looking under the rocks it becomes worse, not better?
But he and I explored that, and he got very clear about what he was giving up — personally and for the good of this entire organization by not envisioning more, at least once with his team. And so we began with a three day offsite with his senior team. It wasn’t an easy first day – kind of like going to the doctor and getting the diagnosis and plan for your recovery all in one. We looked under every rock and put it all out on the table. Then the heavy lifting began.
Very quickly, as hard as it was, things began to change. Just by asking different questions – a simple set of questions – instead of the usual why is this happening again? Whose fault is it? All resulting in a pattern in which people were skittish about pointing fingers, and the high performers just taking more work home. Before my eyes, the conversations began to shift amongst the team in a powerful way towards openness, accountability and responsibility.
And so we began and continued, and over the course of five years, with a strategy retreat at the beginning of the fiscal year, we have consciously and intentionally improved the culture…to one of being rooted in core values, skilled at courageous conversations, respectful of inherent personality differences, and grounded in team norms, understandings, guiding principles, — what they now call their Team Agreements.
As a result, every person on that teams says, “things are different here. Employee engagement is higher, net income is higher, customers are staying longer, and we are having FUN doing it.”
That’s how I am going to spend my day today…beginning year six facilitating the vision for the year with now 60 people – a high performing, fully functioning and electrified team.
Kendall
p.s. If you’d like to know how much blame is within your team, contact me, and I’ll send you our assessment, complimentary, just for asking.
