Creating Allies

Ever seen a team crumble from the inside?

Katlyn turned to me because she was certain that her team was falling apart.

The pebble that started this avalanche was when a talented junior team member (Jane) requested a transfer.

Jane loved the company and the work. but she felt unsupported by other members of the team.

Katlyn sensed that there was more to it, but didn’t know how to get to the bottom of it.

And Jane was uncomfortable sharing what was going on and didn’t want to be seen as a complainer.

As she explored the issue in-depth, Katlyn realized that “feeling unsupported” was catchall for a whole slew of issues that her team was not talking about or resolving.

Katlyn found that several of the other team members were also frustrated about the “this is the way we do things” attitude expressed by senior teammates.

In fact, two of them were actively looking for positions at other companies.

After a process of radical listening, root cause questions, and reframing Katlyn was able to rattle off a list of major issue that were ruining the team dynamic.

Katlyn pinpointed several issues:

Unclear authority.
Vague responsibilities.
Unaccountability.

And worst of all? A culture of individualism that was not apparent in the group discussions.

And the lack of teamwork and trust was further exacerbated by poor communication.

One senior team member emerged as the primary focus of discussion.

One instance was when Jane needed guidance on a major project. The senior, preoccupied, shrugged off the responsibility despite previous commitments. He was skilled, but his non-cooperation was a constant hindrance.

Katlyn was in a bind.

This senior IC was dedicated to his work, and did it well. And he was already on the team when Katlyn was brought on as team lead.

But he was undermining the team.

At this point, Katlyn felt lost.

She didn’t have grounds for firing him.

She didn’t really want to go that route at all.

Working with Katlyn, I helped her develop a different direction entirely.

Looking at the trust matrix she realized she really wanted to help move the senior IC from borderline “destructive producer/work horse” to strategic partner.

She felt that would cause less conflict and also use his influence with other seniors to help change the team culture.

She was legitimately worried that the seniors would give pushback.

She decided that her best call was to have the senior IC work with her to create the core teamwork values.

By enlisting him as a partner in the process, she was going to be able to use what Robert Cialdini calls the levers of influence – specifically Commitment and Consistency as well as the Unity – to get him to help reinforce the new direction.

The one thing Katlyn was really worried about was what happens if the senior oversteps his authority because of this – or sees himself as the power behind the throne.

She wanted to protect her power base and raised serious concerns that working with the senior would undermine her authority.

So we worked on specific models that would allow her to bring him into the discussion and have him work on developing the new values through a process of deep questioning.

She also focused on the mutual strategy that was necessary to drive the team forward.

By getting the senior to focus on strategy, they began to openly discuss how trust was integral to teamwork and the strategic process. And that allowed Katlyn to bring him into the discussion without undermining her position.

And as they worked together on this change, Katlyn helped the senior to realize that trust would be the cornerstone of the teamwork values.

They focused on each of the four main variables that influence trust – credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation.

As Katlyn worked with the senior on these changes she, unsurprisingly, uncovered that he held resentment because he had wanted to the team lead position and didn’t understand why he wasn’t given it.

So in addition to having him help develop and implement the core teamwork values, she also began working with him to develop his trust quotient with the team.

Six months later – not only did the teamwork reports improve, but the members were grading the senior’s trust quotient much higher. While he wasn’t yet in the “strategic partner” segment, he was well into “high achiever” and moving.

Within 9 months Katlyn felt comfortable sponsoring the senior for an team lead position that was opening in the company.

This is the impact of followership.

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