Leadership is about awareness, not only commercial awareness but the emotional and social awareness of you and your team. When good people are aligned and happy in roles, businesses find it easier to consistently perform. With an unsophisticated radar, leaders are likely to be blind-sided. Things about the team and organisational needs will be missed.
For example how often when someone bounces in with a big smile and says “How are you/ the project / the sales today?” people think momentarily about the things we really want to say and then put back “ yes I’m/it's fine”!
Human beings are conditioned to present well - the fear of being vulnerable by being open and honest can prevent true conversations and real information from emerging to help steer the business. Walking past how things really are or what really matters to us is dangerous for personal and team health…. it’s called masking. Masking is also stressful as it creates a false position that causes dissonance, and it is exhausting to live with.
And the major problem with "everything being fine" is that what’s not fine isn’t in the conversation!
Everything has to be perfect…
In high performing environments (operating theatres, F1 pit lanes, exceptional sports teams etc) where teamwork is everything, there is no room for skirting past things whatever it is. Everything has to be perfect, really perfect so whatever’s not fine needs to be expressed, heard, reflected upon and responded to.
So think about where this may be present in your leadership space. Who is wearing a mask and why do they feel they need to?
Generating safety is the key antidote. We are not talking about rewarding moaning or accepting poor performance but helping the team feel at ease with venting, feedback and knowing that in everything there is a 10% truth. Being open to that can help us collect the gold that gives us insights and allows the creative edge for the team to evolve. Give permission to explore and not encouragement to avoid.
Give permission to explore and not encouragement to avoid
The beauty of giving permission and safety for real conversations and acting off these is it immediately allows people to feel more connected. Being heard and valued creates a higher attachment to purpose, deeper motivation and a better sense of belonging, all contributing to high performing teams.
The alternative is transactional conversations that can come across as detached, giving people the sense that they are a unit of production. When people are wary, they don’t feel as safe to be open, honest with ideas or feelings and clear on what their needs are. This reduces team effectiveness as it all becomes a little conditional dance as opposed to an open tight bonded team that is all in. Recognise any of this?
Being a high performing team requires us to recognise when things aren’t perfect. That can only come from creating a space where honest conversations about what’s really going on can be held with positivity and exploration.
Leaders aren’t taught emotional and social intelligence. Sometimes it comes easily but for many, it is an elusive skill and tuning in is tough. If you are seeing this in your interactions or organisation, then don’t despair you can always supplement your strengths with this.
Check in
Are you set up to connect well, to welcome the frailties of the business, your own personal frailties, and those of the team? Or do you hold the “fake it ‘til we make it" gene tightly? The near-perfect teams only arrive by exploring their imperfections hard with energy and curiosity.
So you can see ‘wearing a mask' can be dangerous! It can be exhausting for a team, traumatic even.
If you want to talk about how to move a closed culture into a more open one, we have plenty of experience in resetting and will be pleased to chat through some ideas.
