Lencioni's First Temptation - Elevate your ego over the needs of the company. If you make agreements and compromises that are intended to make you look good instead of making your team or company look good, we have a problem. If you have a leader who speaks well, can motivate others, but does not include outcomes or results in their communications, they may be falling prey to this temptation. I'm going to admit, my orange ENFJ personality is naturally predisposed to this. Lencioni encourages folks like me to diligently strive for results over fluff, and to look to advance through achievement instead of your winning personality.
Lencioni's Second Temptation - Being liked by your direct reports is more important than holding them accountable. Also me. But I am growing in this area. I did some deep work on this subject a few month back and discovered the wonderful world of polarity maps. I shifted my focus from being liked (my sensitivity) to managing the poles between sensitivity and accountability (which are both important) by keeping employee's responsibilities at the forefront of my interactions with them. This gives me the foundation I need to carry out my responsibilities as a supervisor. It also underscores the importance of having very clear job descriptions and expectations.
My "being liked vs. holding people accountable" polarity map
Lencioni's Third Temptation - The need to be right distracts you, thus you communicate sparse direction/instruction to your employees in the fear you've missed something. This is not me. But I do know it's an issue for others. I see this when looking at larger organizations who continually need to manage transparency (or wanting to seem transparent to keep their stakeholders happy) with confidentiality. It can also be a factor when you are working in a rapidly changing environment where the rules can change often and quickly (think healthcare during a pandemic). What was correct policy and procedure one day is not the next. Many managers turn to silence, because they honestly don't know what the right answers are. Nothing sucks the energy and confidence out of your employees like a quiet supervisor who can't or won't give direction.
Lencioni's Fourth Temptation - You avoid creative tension and miss productive outcomes that can emerge from robust, respectful disagreement. This is for all the lovers of peace who find themselves in management positions. Harmony is to be valued. It is a gift. But placing too high a place on desiring peace, happiness, sweetness and light can miss a mark. This summer I was placed with a group of people and tasked with developing a new strategic plan for an NGO. We had a week. Because we did not know each other well, we spend a lot of time doing a relational dance where we tried to create something innovative without stepping on toes. It was hard. Our saving grace were the standards we set for our team at the beginning of our work together. Emotionally checking in and out at the beginning and end of our meetings coupled with taking responsibility for out words and attitudes allowed us to successfully build a proposal to meet our client's needs, and we ended up building trust with each other along the way. Don't fear the "groan zone" - treat it with care. You may be a surprised with what a respectful system can accomplish.
Lencioni's Fifth Temptation - Being powerful and bulletproof is more important than revealing personal weakness. Ultimately, this is about trust. If your team trusts you, and you trust your team, appropriately disclosing your humanity can be a powerful tool. But not powerful in the way you think (although warm feelings of goodwill in a team are rarely unwanted). If you trust your team, you don't need to waste time hiding. You can get the job done without wondering what your co-workers are thinking or how you can communicate thoughts without admitting you need help or don't know the answer. Honestly, it's just good time-management. "I need your help, I don't know the answer, but you probably do." Compelling phrases that can develop trust and motivate your team to successful outcomes.
Temptation is universal. It's going to happen. What I do with it as I practice influential management will either set me apart as an effective leader or keep me comfortably mired in mediocrity.
(n.d.). Institute for Jewish Policy Research: Welcome. https://www.jpr.org.uk/documents/14-06-19.Barry_Johnson.Polarity_Management.pdf
Wright, A. D. (2019, August 16). Good leaders avoid these 5 temptations. SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/leadership-and-navigation/Pages/Good-Leaders-Avoid-Temptations.aspx
LOVE IT!
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Good advice!
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