Over the last 18 months of building Vermelho, I have talked about managing change and building resilience in teams a lot! I have interviewed and coached countless team members and their leaders and have read fascinating philosophical and psychological works by Jordan Peterson, Carl Jung, Angela Duckworth, and Ichiro Kishimni and Fumitake Koga.
I also revisited more well-known works (and old favourites) by Simon Sinek, Patrick Lencioni and Brene Brown (A list of those books is at the end of this post). This has all been to understand what builds trust in teams so that they engage in change, stay motivated and have resilience through the more challenging times.
Of course, there are numerous things that I could share with you. But because of some conversations I’ve had in the last week and from the cross-over in insights in those books, I'd love to share with you three ways in which knowing motives and truths can help teams when they are struggling, both through deepening their determination to keep going and strengthening their confidence in themselves and in you.
1) Speak the truth (or at least do not lie) and be precise in your speech
These are Rule 8 and Rule 10 in Jordan Peterson’s Book “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos”. Every single rule can be applied to how you lead a team. But I particularly love these. I have often found that leaders will not speak the entire truth when dealing with difficult change in organisations. Instead, they tell half-truths, or use platitudes to appease their teams. But what’s the motive behind this? Usually, they are trying protect themselves. They fear being disliked or confrontation. Sometimes they say they are trying to protect their teams. They use phrases like “I don’t want to cause panic”. So, they leave out details. They only tell the truth to some people close to them and ask for the details not to be shared. But this only serves to decrease trust and confidence (two different things even though they sound similar). Everyone lies far more than they think they do. Even a half-truth is still a lie. When dealing with change in your organisation, commit yourself to the truth, and if you can’t do that, don’t say anything at all until you can commit to the truth. Be direct. Don’t avoid the conversations that make you uncomfortable. Don’t shirk responsibility. Have the courage to be disliked. This vulnerability and authenticity builds trust and increases clarity. And when you are trusted, your team will follow you anywhere, even through the most challenging times! Do you know your motives for hiding the truth?
2) Remember your team’s motives- this is THEIR truth
A key feature of resilience is helping someone make their own argument for change. When I'm coaching teams or working on a large project, I'm always curious about the deeper pushes and pulls within someone that makes them interested (or not) in change. Unfortunately, leaders will often try motivating teams by telling them why the change is important to them or the organisation. But this often misses the mark. Do you know your team’s truth? Have you asked? And when you asked, did you assume the person you were listening to might know something you didn’t? When your team is struggling with a course of action, try completing this sentence:
'This is important to this team because...'
This will remind you of THEIR motives. Yes, you must paint a vision for change within your organisation, AND then you must communicate it in a way that satisfies the motives of your team. Drawing out good reasons for the change in terms of what motivates your team reinforces their determination to succeed. If you can't find a compelling rationale for the change from the point of view of your team, then perhaps you’re on the wrong path. (Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” is a good way to think of your vision for change).
3) Work with and through mixed feelings- keep searching for the truth
When your team grinds to a halt it might seem that they’re unmotivated, or “resistant to change”. I really dislike that phrase, because more often teams are highly motivated, though in more than one direction. When good reasons to do something collide with good reasons to go against it, uncomfortable ambivalence can lead the team to stop progressing. They might stall and get stuck, or flip flop between stepping forward and falling back. In this situation, it can be helpful to bring mixed feelings into open view so that you can follow point 2 above and know their motives. It is there that you can work with them and through mixed feelings and re-align them to the change you are driving.
You can draw mixed feelings out by completing the following sentences with your team:
a) Part of me thinks or feels that this project is....
b) Another part of me thinks or feels that....
c) Other views are…
Analyse how everyone feels on balance. Which way is the majority voting?
As you can see, these suggestions require an ability to be reflective about yourself and your teams. As Jung very often says, “Without self-knowledge there can be no growth". This is arguably the most important part of leading teams through change and building resilience. What do you think?
Book List
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos Jordan B Peterson
Jung: A Very Short Introduction Anthony Stevens
Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance Angela Duckworth
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action Simon Sinek
The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings of Authenticity, Connection and Courage Brene Brown
The Courage to be Disliked Ichiro Kishimni and Fumitake Koga
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable Patrick Lencioni