A team, or an organization, is functional when there happens to be an effective attention to:
a. activities and things to do;
b. relationships between people.
It seems that the more you focus on one of the two items, the less you take care of the other.
We want to talk about how to reconcile this apparent dilemma.
Some facts:
1. In my experience, while supporting organizations, Leaders are anxiously careful as to the completion of activities.
2. Leaders, often, have just a pale idea of how important relationships are in a working environment. Usually when we start our engagements, be it consultancy or training or a combination, before awareness builds, many leaders ask me …” do I even have to be a psychologist … with all that I have to do?”
3. However, is also true that many leaders have a clear perception of the importance or relationships, but they can’t build effective ones. I refer to relationships between the leader and his/her people and between the people in the team.
4. A team Leader has a key role in the development of relationships of any kind. Very often, though, before we develop awareness in our work, many say such things as “… how can I do with that person … he has that personality …”. Many leaders give up and accept the consequences.
Fortunately there is a lot that can be done.
Now … why are relationships so important?
Relationships are important because they are the foundation of the INVOLVEMENT of the people who work with you. Involved people do activities with high quality, quickly, with creativity and even genius. They find new solutions; they recommend spontaneously new activities and new ways to do things. They help you live a better life and help you business bottom line.
People who are not involved, boycott the organization, hide mistakes, don’t get things done, or get them done in a different, mistaken, way. They have no initiative and do not invent anything. They badmouth about the organization, in many ways, both within the organization and outside, and with clients. In the best situations people not involved will just work through the day often checking the watch without any awareness of the goal the are trying to achieve. Besides, nobody probably ever talked to them about goals … but this a whole different topic.
These are meaningful reasons why relationships within an organization are important.
In a great number of Organizations, a model prevails: Leaders face a choice: either I develop relationships, or I focus on activities. A compromise. If I improve relationships I will have to give up some performance. If I focus on performances/activities, I know that I will have to deteriorate relationships to a certain extent. In this perspective we make ourselves happy with the best compromise.
Some examples belong to this approach.
A nurse does not file some analysis data correctly, and therefore slows my diagnosis process, and in the definition of therapies. Since I want to keep the relationship with the nurse in good shape, I will avoid this conversation, or I will talk about the mistake in a very superficial way.
Another example: a salesmen develops a furniture supply for a customer at a price that will make me lose 3% on the order. Again, I decide not to face the issue, or to deal with it superficially, in order to avoid that the relationships becomes deteriorated, and the salesperson leaves my businesses and goes to work for a competitor.
Some other times Leaders focus on activities “punishing” strongly the person that is under performing. By these means we clarify that we are not going to accept mistakes, even if the relationship is at stake.
On the other hand, when activities or projects, are completed in time and with good results it is fairly simple to become appreciative. But: a) appreciative behaviors are quite rare, and b) it in fact fairly easy.
The challenge takes place, as we know, relate to those circumstances in which activities are not completed, or significant mistakes take place. What to do?
If we use this model, (the compromise) we are not going to achieve great results at all. If we accept low performance in order not to ruin relationships we will soon find ourselves in hard problems. If we ruin relationships, we will have an immediate effect in terms of a rapidly decreasing involvement and other disastrous consequences such as those I described above.
A new Paradigm.
I propose a new way: the development of an organization in which healthy relationships are the foundation of activities carried on with enthusiasm, determination, and participation. Where workers become team members, accountable to each other, even before they feel accountable to you leaders. People cease to be problems, a cost and source of stress. Enthusiasm and participation make them forget time and difficulties, and they become solutions that allow you to allow time for strategic issues, such as the development of markets and products.
The path is somehow complex, but possible, and even simple, if some conditions are met. We will talk about it.
In conclusion … I also propose you some minutes of reflection, with the extreme sincerity you owe to yourself.
In your experience as a Leader, what do you focus more on, activities or relationships?
In which way have you pushed, encouraged the completion of activities “well and quickly done”?
How have you developed relationships in your organization? Are you aware?
In which way have you reconciled activities and relationships in your team?
Answer these questions … it is worth it :).
And, if you have comments or specific curiosities do write a line to me.
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