TAKE 1

Commentary by Vivian Blade

Vivian Blade is a talent management strategist, author, keynote speaker, leadership development trainer, and executive coach.

Diana is dealing with several challenges, including her own leadership experience and capacity, the organizational culture, dynamics within her team, and individual personnel.

Her inexperience as a leader is hindering her team’s progress. In addition, Diana’s early exposure to poor leadership has shaped her leadership style—mostly from lessons learned that she will not do. Her current company, having recently transitioned from a startup to a growing, larger organization, isn’t a good role model of leadership for its growth structure either. Diana’s lack of formal leadership development is compounded because she doesn’t have a mentor to give feedback and share other perspectives. So, Diana is left to make her own judgments on what she observes, and doesn’t fully understand her role. She recognizes that some things need to change, but doesn’t know what she should be doing to establish and lead a high-performing team.

While Diana is so focused on “having the right people on the bus in the right seat,” she doesn’t realize she needs to look at the design and health of the bus itself.

The team’s working relationships are more competitive than supportive, which may stem from a lack of trust within the team. Because the culture did not evolve as the company grew from the start-up stage, the programmers, who have been around since its infancy, continue to work in a small, entrepreneurial cultural style. Organizational values, behaviors, and team norms were not established as the company grew. If they were defined, they didn’t filter down through the organization. The four programmers know one another well and are used to working together. However, the addition of a new leader and quality engineer disrupted their norms. They also may be feeling some loss of autonomy.

Additionally, Diana needs to assess whether Nell is in the right position. Are the team dynamics and work process keeping her from being successful? During the lunch conversation, Diana avoided having a frank discussion with Nell. Instead, she used Nell’s idea for her career change as a distraction from addressing real development opportunities. She didn’t provide any guidance for how Nell might think about the right move for herself. And, she didn’t give any direction for how the mentoring process would work.

Diana’s overall goal should be to become a better leader, working with her team to create an environment where they can effectively contribute to the company’s growth. What actions should Diana take to manage the current challenges and achieve these outcomes? Let’s first address the most pressing needs and where she has direct control.

Often, an organization’s infrastructure does not effectively support the work a team needs to accomplish. This is one of the first places leaders should look as they assess the outcomes of their team. First, Diana needs to evaluate her “bus,” and then she can assess the roles needed and determine whether her current team members meet those needs. These questions will help her determine gaps and priorities:

• What is the team’s purpose and function? What deliverables are expected?

• Are functional processes and systems defined, in place, and followed to support her team’s deliverables?

• Is the organizational structure set up to work effectively toward meeting her team’s purpose, function, and deliverables?

• Are the job function and accountabilities for each role well defined?

• Has she defined the technical and soft skills required for success for each role?

• Have expectations been clearly set and communicated to each employee?

• Have employees received the training required to be successful in their roles?

• Is the team culture inclusive and engaging? Do employees work together as a team toward a common goal? Are working relationships constructive?

One of a leader’s most important roles is building a high-functioning team. It appears that some foundation setting did not take place as Diana stepped into this role. Even though the team seems to have established some undesirable norms, she can engage them in intentionally redefining their goals and norms collectively. These steps and tools will help her lead this effort:

• Engage the team in defining their vision and setting team goals. This will build personal ownership among team members.

• Give the team a sense of purpose by connecting the importance of their work to achieving the vision for the company.

• Share observations and concerns about the team’s working relationships and how that affects their outcomes. Have team members share their observations and concerns, too.

• Engage the team in defining their working relationships, values, and team norms. Ensure their roles and responsibilities are defined and understood across the team. Why are all roles important? Agree that challenging each other can be constructive; however, make sure that all are on board with the basic approach.

• Use an assessment such as Myers-Briggs or DiSC to understand team members’ personalities, interaction styles, and work preferences. Review results with the team and provide strategies on how to effectively work together.

• An assessment such as Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team can also be a resource to uncover some of their underlying issues.

• Work on building trust within the team. Diana can model trust and earn trust by ensuring she leads with integrity, communicates frequently and honestly, and demonstrates respect for her team’s expertise and experience. The Trust Edge (2009) can guide her through author David Horsager’s eight pillars of trust within her team.

As for Nell, Diana should more carefully assess her direct report’s performance before deciding if a performance improvement plan is warranted. It appears that her personal observations did not align with her predecessor’s opinion. Diana should consider whether a combination of organizational and personal factors may be playing a role in Nell’s performance. As she assesses these factors, she should objectively consider the following questions and associated tools that can help her:

• Have expectations been clearly set and communicated to Nell? How does her performance compare against those expectations?

• Assess whether Nell has the skills and training required for the role using tools like the SHL Software Quality Assurance Skills Test.

• Assess how Nell’s strengths and interests match those required by the job using tools such as StrengthsFinder, CliftonStrengths, or the SHL Occupational Personality Profile.

• Is Nell giving full effort to her role? How is her attendance? Does she seem interested and engaged in her work?

Additionally, Diana should talk with Nell to get her perspective on what she thinks the challenges are and why. Are there some things that Nell can take responsibility for to improve the situation? They can discuss how Nell might have greater success in her current role, and how some of the team’s ideas are being implemented to improve the team culture. Nell currently has no career plan, and she doesn’t know if the roles she is looking at would be a better fit for her. Using the insights from the assessments, Diana and a mentor can work with Nell to develop a career plan and evaluate what might be the best fit for her inside or outside her organization. She should introduce Nell to the book Find Your Fit (Kaiden 2016), which references a variety of useful career resources.

Regarding her own leadership style, Diana needs to understand the many facets of leadership so that she can recognize what she hasn’t been doing and needs to be doing in her role. She can work with her HR partner to enroll in a leadership development program, and may want to consider engaging an executive coach. A trusted adviser or mentor who can advise Diana in her leadership growth will be an essential resource in her development. This person may not be in her current organization.

Diana also needs feedback on her current leadership from her team, peers, senior leaders, and others who work with her. She can use tools like a 360-degree feedback or emotional intelligence assessment from resources like the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) Assessment, Hogan 360, Hogan EQ, or the SHL Occupational Personality Profile—Leadership.

As for the company itself, enhancements in the company’s overall culture will have a positive impact on Diana’s team. As organizational values, behaviors, and norms for their larger structure are defined, communicated, and modeled from the top, employees can begin to shift their personal expectations and behaviors. Employee engagement feedback and practices will help ensure that a more inclusive environment exists. Diana should share her observations about the current environment, as well as the influence on her team, with her boss and even the CEO to heighten awareness and influence change.

Many of these actions are not quick fixes. Diana can make consistent and significant progress by setting priorities and taking it a step at a time. As she learns more about her leadership role and gains additional experience, the actions she needs to take will become more intuitive. Engaging the team in the process will increase ownership and engagement, as well as accelerate the team’s success.