The monolithic team
How often do you use “them”, “they” or “my team” when referring to your team regarding a problem or concern, or even in praise? Is your team, for good or bad, a single entity or monolith?
In the very beginning of my leadership journey I used to refer to my direct hires this way—as a single unit. Even praise was considered “to the team”. This idea of collectivism I found very quickly was not only damaging to the overall morale of the team but often robbed the company of great and creative ideas.
Most people like the idea of being part of a team—belonging to something that allows them personal interactions at some level and the ability to accomplish more than what they could on their own. But people also want to feel they contribute a part of themselves to the team dynamic. Promoting “group think” or the idea that everyone needs to come together to the same conclusion to move ideas forward can leave your team members feeling unappreciated and unimportant, but can also squash the flow of creative ideas and innovation.
Some of this may sound like common sense, but it manifests itself in several subtle ways that you might not be aware of. For example, do you consider not only an employee’s skillset when handing out an assignment, but also their work preferences? From my own engineering perspective, I have developers who hate doing user interface and graphics work and others who enjoy it. By knowing the type of work your employees like to do you are able to provide them with more rewarding projects and assignments. And while we are on this topic of knowing your employees, have you ever even asked them what they enjoy most and what they enjoy the least? Have you taken the time to understand their motivations and how you can best relate to them?
The same is true when recognizing accomplishments and praising your direct reports. As a new leader I never took credit for any of my team’s successes but I also never gave it to them as individuals. In a way this was like I was taking the credit myself as “my team’s” success. Once I realized that this was actually a selfish and spotlight stealing attitude, I started shifting recognition to individuals who made the difference. If someone really made the extra effort and drove a project over the finish line ahead of schedule or under budget then they were always specifically named in the executive meetings to ensure not only the proper credit was given but also so the leadership team started to hear the names of the superstars over and over. Not only did the individual team members appreciate the recognition but it also set them up for professional growth and advancement.
In conclusion, it can sometimes be easy to think of those who report to you as a monolithic group to which a one size fits all solution can be applied to any aspect of the team dynamic. There is a fine line between recognizing each team member individually and losing the overall corporate vision and collective strategy, but it is a line that is worth scrutinizing. Often some of the best creativity, innovation and team development exists on
this line
What are your thoughts? Do you sometimes catch yourself doing this? Post a reply in the comments and let us know your team story.
The Magic Mute Button
Every now and then I go on a rant about something that just drives me crazy. Before I got into management and leadership I used to look up to management like a bunch of people who were really successful because they displayed the qualities of maturity, organization and emotional control. When I actually made it to the executive suite myself I began to realize that a lot of these people were successful DESPITE having none of these qualities.
This fact is on full display in conference calls. It amazes me to this day what people will do during a conference call when everyone can hear them but not see them. All it takes is a quick tap of the mute button and all this background goes away.Instead I hear some of the following insanity. Tell me if any of these sound familiar:
- The classic “peeing” sound while using the bathroom
- Washing dishes while the CEO is trying to hear department status updates
- Chewing and burping while providing your status update
- Background sounds that sounded like pornography playing on the TV
- Loud radios and constant turn signals
- Loud background talking and constant arrival and departure updates from an airport
- Screaming kids or barking dogs
I have personally experienced every item on this list. It is one thing You may not always be able to hit mute before a screaming child or dog bark or a loud background noise, but awareness of your own surroundings should tell you you are bringing a lot of noise into a meeting and the mute button might be a good idea.
This has gotten worse with COVID and people who are not used to having telephone conferences are now in them all the time. Even in video conferences when people should realize they are being watched they are not paying attention to the speaker, spinning in their chairs and doing otherwise distracting things in a professional meeting.
In. my opinion, executives SHOULD demonstrate qualities of maturity , organization and emotional control as true leaders. Every one of your direct hires and coworkers watches you for cues on how to behave. What example are you setting?
What are some of the craziest things you have heard or seen in a conference call? Leave a reply and share.
Did the Pandemic Change How We Sleep
The concept of napping has actually began to gain momentum as a legitimate practice for highly effective and productive people. It wasn’t long ago that it was considered a practice for elderly retired people and some highly progressive tech companies like Google. However, with the pandemic changing the way we think of our work day the practice of napping, either power napping or even what is referred to as poly-phasic sleeping has garnered more attention.
There are numerous studies that reinforce the importance of good healthy sleep. I was surprised to see however, the number of studies that support some form of regenerative napping during the day. The famous “power nap” is one practice wherein someone rests just long enough NOT to enter REM sleep—usually 20 minutes or so. I have heard of the “key method” of power napping where executives would lay on their office couch with their arm extended off the side with their keys in their hand. When they got to the point of entering REM sleep and the body begins to twitch slightly they drop the keys on the ground and the noise wakes them from sleep. However you manage to wake up, this type of short nap has been shown to increase awareness and reduce signs of fatigue.
A different concept I have recently been exposed to is the concept of phasic sleeping. A normal 8 hours of sleep in one session is called monophasic—a single sleep phase that encompasses all the sleep you will get for a 24 hour period. Bi-phasic sleep sessions are split into two periods. One type of bi-phasic sleep essentially models the siesta concept in many latin countries—the idea that you get a large block of sleep at night for about 4 to 6 hours and then an additional 90 minutes during the afternoon when chemicals in the brain tend to trigger more fatigue. Another form of bi-phasic sleeping is going to bed earlier at around 10pm and sleeping until about 2am. You would then wake up for about 2 to 3 hours and then return to sleep for another 2 to 3 hours. The latter is geared towards those people who tend to wake at around 1am to 2am and are always restless for a time but then fall into deep sleep again around 5am.
A more unique practice is the poly-phasic sleep schedules. These usually include a larger block of sleep at night for around 4 hours and then numerous 20 to 30 minute naps throughout the day and possibly one more larger block for 1 to 2 hours. There are multiple ways to schedule poly-phasic sleeping depending on your work and home schedule and many other personal factors.
Researchers point out in many of these studies that the bi-phasic and poly-phasic sleep models more naturally coincide with physiological patterns that have been in our DNA since we were hunter/gatherers. The introduction of artificial light began to move people towards the monophasic style of sleep. For those who actually have sleep disorders these types of phasic alternatives could help with treatment.
Why am I so fascinated with sleep? When any executive has productivity or efficiency issues one of the things I would discuss with them is how they are sleeping. A lack of good quality sleep is an absolute productivity killer and the majority of the population cannot function on 4 hours of sleep every night. But for those who can factor in one of these alternative phasic sleep schedules they may be able to counteract some of the damage they are doing by only getting 4 hours of sleep every night.
What is your sleeping schedule like? Have you ever tried one of these alternative poly-phasic sleep patterns? Leave a reply in the comments and let us know how your sleep schedule works for you and if you would be willing to try one of these alternatives.