Leadership HEE HAW

Six Principles for Maintaining a Cohesive and Collaborative Team

I care profoundly for the teams that I lead. I worry about how they cope, did they get time for a lunch, am I supporting them enough. Some would say that I care to a fault. Of course, those who say that haven’t met my teams. If they had, they would know that they are worth every ounce of caring that I give them.

Admittedly, there are times, as a leader that I felt like I was a living example of the familiar saying, ‘Managing people is like herding cats’. And there were even times when I likened myself to a goat roper at a rodeo (no disrespect for cowboys or goats intended). Without strong leadership skills, it can be very frustrating and often disheartening to lead teams. I believe that there are ways that you can minimize the friction, reduce the frustration and increase the fulfilment for both you as a leader and your team.

Over the years I’ve developed a philosophy that I lovingly call, the Leadership HEE HAW. And, no, this doesn’t require boots, a straw hat or a lasso. It simply requires the following:

Honesty — with yourself and those who look to you for guidance.

Empathy — recognize that we are all human and that people are more than the current situation or job.

Encouragement — being supportive, caring and understanding even when we don’t know everything.

Humor — finding the humor allows us to be open to learning the lesson and growing in our wisdom.

Acceptance — letting go of preconceived ideas and allowing the wonder of the world to unfold before us.

Willingness — to step in, step up or step out and recognizing when to do which one.

Let’s dive a little deeper into each of these.

Honesty:

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”
― Albert Einstein

Some people think of integrity when I say honesty. While that is a part of it, it’s not the whole of it. Integrity is more about your actions — doing what you say you’re going to do. Following through on something that you said you would do. Honesty goes deeper. Honesty is also multi-layered. Being honest with yourself is one thing, but what about with your team or you’re peers? As a leader there are many times when you will need to make difficult decisions. Conveying that information to others means that you may not be able to share all the information. Being honest about what you can and can’t share is respecting both you and the receiver. You are being honest with yourself that you recognize your own limitations (in what you can / cannot share) and you’re being honest with the person or people you’re telling. Honesty engenders trust and trust builds relationships.

Honest is the foundation of trust and it is a crucial principal of effective leadership. A leader who is honest and transparent in his or her communication and actions can build a strong bond with their team and foster a culture of trust. In a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review1, honesty was found to be the most important quality for a leader to have, as employees are more likely to follow someone they trust.

Empathy:

“Sometimes all a person wants is an empathetic ear; all he or she needs is to talk it out. Just offering a listening ear and an understanding heart for his or her suffering can be a big comfort.”
― Roy T. Bennett

Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes sounds like an easy enough thing to do. However, we can only see the shoes that are being worn in that current situation. What we can’t see are the many pairs that may have been worn prior. I have about 30 pair of shoes that I wear depending on the occasion. In this same way, when we are working with someone else, we only see them in that current situation. We may not know that they have a sick child at home, or that their partner recently lost their job and now they are the sole bread winner. As a leader we need to recognize that the people we lead have other responsibilities and lives outside of the minute slice they share with us. Allowing them the grace if they maybe aren’t ‘all there’ every day, is a sign of a strong leader. Additionally, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and sharing more about our personal life, gives our teams a view into the whole person that we are. This can encourage them to do the same. This is not to say that every drama should be aired in the team setting. However, providing a safe space for when someone does need a shoulder to lean on, will show them that you truly care about them as a person and not just someone to fill a position.

Encouragement:

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Aligned with empathy, encouragement is the ability to be supportive and show that you care about your team members. When someone on your team brings up an idea, do you immediately start poking holes in it, or do you adopt a position of open curiosity? Even when you know that the suggestion or idea won’t take flight, the simple act of encouraging exploration of it will aid in expanding critical thinking skills. This can also open new pathways of trust. If they know they are supported when they have new ideas, then they will also be more open when they think something isn’t good for the team, customer, or company. Encouraging your team to provide candid feedback is one of the best ways to continuously improve and innovate. Encouraging them to speak up and share their thoughts by actively listening and providing critical, timely feedback show that you are supportive and trusting.

According to a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management2, employees who feel supported and encouraged by their leaders are generally more likely to be happy and stay with their employer for longer periods of time.

Humor:

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.”
― Kurt Vonnegut

Being able to laugh at yourself or adverse situations is one of those rare qualities that can take years to achieve. Although, I have met some who seem to come to it naturally, most of us typically get many opportunities to exercise the practice throughout our lives. Understanding that life is situational and how we respond is how we learn and grow. Taking things too seriously can lead to higher stress levels and lower productivity. When a team is afraid to fail, they are not as willing to take risks and therefore are limited in their creativity and innovation. Getting angry when things don’t go as expected only leads to further delays, emotional distress and distrust from your team. When we can see the humor in a situation, then we can also see the wisdom. This creates a safe environment within which people will feel understood and appreciated.

A leader who uses humor in a professional and appropriate manner can help to lighten the mood, boost employee morale, and increase productivity. Humor can also help to create a sense of camaraderie among employees, fostering a sense of unity and teamwork.

Acceptance:

There is no getting away from the fact that we all have our own ideas of what is right, wrong, good or bad. It’s when we open our minds to the unlimited possibilities regardless of our expectations, that we embrace acceptance. This isn’t to say that we ignore missed deadlines or bad behavior. I approach these situations with curiosity instead of condemnation. When a deadline is approaching and the team member who is scheduled to complete it is running behind, I ask open questions to see where they may need assistance. I also recognize when there are circumstances beyond anyone’s control that can impact the delivery or support. Family crisis, weather related incidents, or technical breakdown are all things that can impact a person’s ability to meet a deadline. By maintaining an open and accepting attitude, I remain open to solutions that may not have been identified otherwise. This is when I employ acceptance and shift into a creative mode, some might call it problem solving or recovery. However, I think those are limiting concepts. Creativity maintains an open attitude and can only be achieved through acceptance of what is possible. Spiraling into a storm of anger and frustration will lead to a clouded perspective and limit opportunities for resolution or clear communication.

Acceptance is the ability to embrace diversity and to respect the opinions and ideas of others. A leader who is accepting of their employees’ differences is able to create a positive work environment and will foster a culture of inclusivity and respect. Acceptance helps employees to feel valued, heard and understood, and it can also help promote creativity and innovation in the workplace. A study conducted by the Diversity and Inclusion Institute3 found that companies that have a diverse and inclusive workplace culture are more likely to have higher employee engagement, increased productivity, and improved bottom line results.

Willingness:

As a leader we are faced with many decisions and there is none greater than the one where we must be willing to change our approach and decide whether to step in, step up or step out with our teams. Willingness to Step In and take control is an art that must be practiced carefully. There are times when, as a leader, you will need to step in to make sure something is completed on time or a client’s needs are met. When it’s done with a ‘sleeves rolled up’ attitude rather than a ‘get out of the way and let me fix it’ approach, then your team members will likely be more accepting and will learn from your intervention. Stepping up is when you are willing to let your team continue doing what they need to, while you take a more active interest in the project. If you recognize that things are starting to go sideways, then you can provide more guidance and direction without taking over control or getting into the weeds. This gives them the reassurance that you are supportive and allows them to still own the activities and decisions. Willingness to Step Out can often be the hardest one of all. This can only be accomplished when you’ve employed all the other principles first. It shows that you trust your team to do what they do best and encourages them to utilize all the tools you have given them to be successful. When you have a cohesive team that is honest with each other, then you can accept the outcomes and be ready to celebrate their success or laugh at the wisdom gained along the way. And they know that you will be there if they need you to listen when things don’t go right or support them when they are having an off day.

Leaders who incorporate these principles into their leadership style can help to create a workplace culture that is supportive, inclusive, and positive. They can help to build trust and relationships with their employees, foster collaboration and teamwork, and encourage employee engagement and motivation. Ultimately, this leads to increased productivity, improved results and a more successful and sustainable organization.

So, there is no need to put on your boots and grab your straw hat for a hoe down — unless of course it’s for a team celebration event. Instead, if you employ the principles that I outlined above, you will have a highly collaborative, trusting, innovative and cohesive team who look to you for your honesty, empathy, encouragement, humor, acceptance, and willingness to help them succeed.

References:

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