What do you do when the leader of your team is the problem?

By Steve Zuieback · Posted Monday, June 27, 2016

Michael Grinder and I have been conducting Master Leadership Development classes on improving team performance. The name of our class is, From Cat Herding to Leadership, and a slgnificant focus of this program is on learning how to diagnosis difficult team dynamics and then how to intervene in ways that improve the functionality of the team. One of the most common concerns that team members have revolves around the leader of their team. I have just posted an article on how to intervene in this dynamic under my Free Resources page.

Leaders can unknowingly contribute to dysfunction through a number of ways, such as:

  1. Over use of a "credible voice" pattern that may convey authority, judgment, the message that only they have the answers.
  2. Pushing groups to tackle too complex of issues for the functionality of the team.
  3. Only coming to their team for input on implementation rather than co-designing the "what" and "why" of a task prior to the implementation discussions.
  4. Coming to their team for too much conversation on issues that are perceived by the team as very straightforward.

If this whole topic sends possible shivers up your spine, you may want to check out the full article that provides step-by-step guidance on how to work with such leaders.  

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