The CEO of a large real estate development company recently complained to me about a frustrating executive team meeting he’d just finished. One of the company’s historically high-performing businesses was struggling. Its leader had been in the job only six months and had made some changes to their marketing plan. The CEO believed this to be the culprit behind the slipping performance, and knew everyone on the team shared his view. But nobody raised it during the meeting. Frustrated and confused, he vented to me, “It’s not like we’re shy about having spirited debates. We are very blunt with one another. So why didn’t anyone volunteer their insight to help out a struggling peer? If I’m the one that always has to do it, it just looks like I’m doing group performance management!”
How to Make Raising Difficult Issues Everyone’s Job
If people are too worried about staying in their own lane, that’s bad.
May 19, 2017
Summary.
Making it safe to speak up is one thing. Setting an expectation that people actually do it is another. It’s not uncommon for leaders to avoid treading on one another’s territories. But if people only raise issues that specifically concern them, you are reinforcing a type of individualism that undermines teamwork and cohesion. To get people to raise challenging issues, make it explicit that you expect them to do so. Orchestrate regular exchanges between team members so they can give each other feedback. Build shared problem-solving into your regular staff meeting agendas. And keep tabs on the level of trust in your organization using pulse surveys or other tools, since if trust is low, it will be harder for anyone to speak out.