So, you find yourself on a leadership team of some sort – an executive board, a board of charity trustees, a church eldership/diaconate/PCC, a team of school governors, or some similar group that leads a team of people or an organisation – congratulations and good luck!!
You are preparing for a meeting at which an important issue will be discussed and decided on, or a brainstorming session for future projects will take place – or some other important discussion will be held. Whatever it is – make sure that you are heard!
It is important that every member of that team shares their opinion and has the opportunity to ask questions of others’ opinions in the discussion. Don’t be willing to share your opinion with selected people outside the meeting but then keep quiet during the important discussion.
Business guru Seth Godin, in his recent blog, said “If you come to my brainstorming meeting and say nothing, it would have been better if you hadn’t come at all” and “It’s tempting to sit quietly, take notes and comply, rationalizing that at least you’re not doing anything negative. But the opportunity cost your newly lean, highly leveraged organization faces is significant. Not adding value is the same as taking it away.”
If you don’t take part in the conversation, what is the reason why? It would suggest that the team falls into Patrick Lencioni’s definition of a dysfunctional team (as we looked at in recent blogs), in that there is not enough trust within that team to enable individual members to feel free enough to share their opinions or to have that conflict as various ideas are questioned and tested. If that’s the case – it needs to be dealt with quickly.
A good chair will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to speak, and will spot those that are quiet and seek to give that person an opportunity to share their thoughts. It is often the ideas that are shared reluctantly for fear of sounding silly that lead to the best results in the end.
So, as you fulfil your role on this leadership group, ensure that your ideas and thoughts are heard, ensure that the ideas and thoughts of others are heard, and that a full and frank discussion takes place. That is how an effective leadership team works.
Remember – you need to add value to that group!