Notes from Paris: I need your help fixing my team
Unbelievably, my 3 months here in Paris are about to draw to a close. I’m remembering to focus on the people and things I miss in Australia (and there are many) and trying not to focus too much on the people and things I will miss here in France (and there are many).
Still. On the weekend I took a short trip to Bruges, in Belgium. It is an incredibly beautiful ancient town, and it was interesting to experience the shift in culture and language from French to Flemish. However, a friend described Bruges as being a little like a Disney version of an old European city, and I think I agree. Its history and beauty are astounding but it was also completely filled with tourists (and yes, I’m well aware I was one of them!), and everything in the touristed areas seemed polished to perfection for the benefit of visitors wanting cute trinkets, beer and chocolates. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I just prefer to get a feel for the way people really live in the places I visit.
I then wandered just a few hundred metres away from the town centre, and found authentically quiet, spacious, still breathtaking, residential streets. The picture is of a laneway I passed by. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere, right?
From now until I return from sabbatical on the 7th April, I wanted to continue sharing the ideas that clients most often return to - the ones that spark reflection, shift perspective, and help make work a little more human.
This week’s topic is: I need your help fixing my team
From time to time I will have a meeting with a potential client about working with them or their team.
Want to know a big red flag?
It’s when they say something like “I need your help fixing my team”.
Yep – if the leader thinks they magically sit outside their team’s dynamics and the only problem in their team is the team members, the fact that the leader thinks that is most likely the real problem.
Let me rephrase that.
If you think that the only problem in your team is your team members, the fact that you think that is most likely the real problem.
How did this situation in your team arise?
What’s making it hard for them to perform?
How did you contribute to the problem arising?
How are you contributing to its persisting?
How would your team describe your leadership?
If a leader is unwilling to address these questions and just wants someone else to come in and “fix” everyone but them, they are going to stay stuck, and the problems will continue.
I’m not saying there can’t be problems that sit with your team. It happens all the time. You can have a team member who isn’t performing for some reason or another, who causes conflict in the team, or even perhaps who is fundamentally unsuited to their role. You may have “inherited” that person when you came into the role and would never have hired them. It happens. The issue is when you place 100% of the responsibility for that issue with your team. No. Even if you can only impact a situation 0.01%, why wouldn’t you do that? And as the leader, your impact is a lot greater than 0.01%. Explore and take accountability for how you’re impacting what’s happening. Only then can you change it.
For now, au revoir, and see you after Easter.
Madeleine
PS I’m back on deck from 7 April. If you’d like to book in coaching or a workshop ready for then, simply email Nicole here or phone her on (02) 8005 1604.
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