“Tribes used to have a process, we need one too.”
Uncertainty about content and context
The more senior leaders become, the more “removed” they are from engaging in real ways with the people in their teams. They have increased feelings of uncertainty about what to talk about (content) and even more importantly they grapple with how to establish the context of the conversations they could engage in. That’s why putting a process around conversations can help.
Take a look at the 7 conversations mentioned in our managing team performance blog. By giving some structure we aim to increase certainty and confidence in the content and context for conversations with team members, taking the focus away from WIP conversations.
Bear in mind that 60% of the Australian population has a personality preference for introversion and 75% a preference for “sensing” when taking information in – this brings deeper clarity as to why people feel uncertain about engaging in conversations.
Introversion is a natural preference for others to initiate conversations – even leaders can feel this way and it takes consciousness and energy to recognise the need to engage in an actual conversation with others. Even when the decision to initiate the conversation is made, the next hurdle is that someone with a natural preference for sensing likes to “know” what information is actually going to be shared in the conversation. They have a very concrete way of taking information in during a conversation and so expect others to work the same way. This is why and how the 7 structured conversations reduce the uncertainty!
Contact us for information on how to improve the conversations you have at work to drive team performance and engagement.
