Dr. Rick Sessoms
Leading Teams with Care
mc611-09
Understanding Team Dimensions
Lesson Transcript
[00:00:00] Tim, would you read that example, number one? Sure. Reinforce. Sybil left the conference room and pulled Ben aside. I'm a little fuzzy about what exactly I'm supposed to do on this project. I thought it was clear in the meeting. Civil? No, it wasn't. I don't know if I'm supposed to go ahead with it or if it will be changed again. I need more specific information before I can move forward with it. So what team dimension is civil? Okay, Executor. Anybody have other ideas? Do you agree with that? Yes. No. Over how many vote executor. Okay. Pretty, pretty good around. Why would you say exactly or what are the clues? She she's an implementer, but it's difficult to implement if you don't have a clear direction, which is both. Exactly. If it'll be changed again. Yeah. Like an accountant. Yeah. Okay. Let's go to example to. Robin, would you read that one for us, please? Jane Graham. I understand why you keep changing it. We just changed it last month because the culture is changing and we have to modify it to meet the needs of people. And we don't update our methods. People won't hear a message. We need to continually make enhancements and develop new strategies to make our efforts relevant. But all these changes are hurting our industry, and I don't think our people will put up with them anymore. So what clear pattern is Mario? Mario. When you say adventure. Other thoughts. I thought it was a refinery. Get this training now. Refine their methods. Okay, So you're. You're thinking he's trying to change the methods. So that's a refining role, right? Is that what you mean? Okay, that's fine. I mean, there's no there's no perfect answer on this stuff. It's.
[00:02:10] It. It's more important that you understand why you're answering it the way you are than having the correct answer. Why would you say advance or Because he's taking a new idea that has already been communicated and he's explaining in plain language to Jane why they're pursuing. All right. Is there anybody that would say he's a creator? Why? It was creating ideas. Okay. Create new ideas. Okay. Enjoying that process? Yeah. So it's sometimes it's not incredibly clear. But the key question is why? How do it why do you why do you think that is? Because we we need to to get clear on what these dimensions are. Okay. Number three. Uh, Tanya, would you read that and force, please? Check. Always considers himself to be at the forefront. Change the love to start the day. And I need someone else to finish them off. There are problems. And when he started, he would start again with this caused problems, and others expected him to finish what he started. Okay. Everybody want to agree on that one? That's pretty, pretty easy, isn't it? Why? Why is it creator and keep stirring games and the problem. Thanks to Katie and idea. Okay. So. So is that what you see? That's pretty typical sometimes of creators. Somebody said thing It was actually You said that sometimes. Was it you that said that? Well, somebody said something about that. I. I like to start things with. Sometimes I have a hard time or creators have a hard time keeping, getting it, getting it going, getting it off the ground. Okay, how about a number? For example, number four, Tim, write down for sure. Rene was getting impatient every time Jim finished his thought. She had thought of a previous Finnish program that was similar and had already thought about an action plan.
[00:04:24] But this was his fifth idea and her fifth execution plan. Pick one that we know will be successful, Rene said, and let's get on with it. But I'm not sure what it. I'm not sure it's right here, said Jim. Rene fumed, So what clear pattern is Rene saying here? Okay. Why do you say that? You just have to do it. Carry it out. But they're not in the loop. All right. You agree with that? I thought maybe refiner because she is coming up with plan and kind of analyzing the different. Okay. Roger Reed, number five for us, if you would. Louis or Louise. Karen and Roxanne have been meeting for over an hour. They had been brainstorming and nothing was decided. Every time Louis came up with an idea, Karen would begin to go over it in such detail that it would grow impatient and come up with another better idea. Finally, Roxanne spoke up. You know, Karen, maybe we should just focus on generating ideas now and then meet again next week. Then we can lay out all the ideas on the table and discuss the pros and cons of that time. What do you think? What do you think? Flexor some. I said flexor. Why? Because it's the only one we haven't talked to. She's intermediate. She's an intermediate. She's a peacemaker. She's no oil. If she sees what needs to be taking place, she realizes that he's. His ideas are being squelched. Right. We're stuck. Yeah. Okay. So these are rather simple examples, but it starts to get us thinking about what these might look like as we go along. But the reality is, is that we need each other. We need each other badly. Um, the, the difficulty is sometimes and my daughter actually provided this picture for, for me and it's a beautiful picture.
[00:06:44] We need a balance within our teams. It's really critical. And, and again, it's more important for leaders and leadership to ensure that balance than it is to emphasize even our own dimension on the team. So the purpose of this leadership leading teams exercise was to acquaint you with this tool, but more importantly, to help you understand what these dimensions are all about and what all, all the dimensions are needed in order for the team to do its work effectively. So please keep that in mind. Let's take a team snapshot. Let me read this for us. I don't know whether you see it. Very good. But Leslie met on Tuesday morning to discuss their director's idea for a new broadcast program. The director had stressed to them how this new concept could set the beginning of a new direction for the station. The director as David and Lesley for a working model by the end of the week. As David met with Lesley, it easy feeling, but I was very clear on how he thought the new concept should look, and I had several good ideas. So Leslie went along with the ideas. After the meeting, though, Leslie was having second thoughts. She was concerned that the new approach was too radical. There were too many things that could go wrong. They didn't have the details ironed out enough to move forward yet. So Les decided to call Al and suggested they scrap the program. What's going on here? Well, they were the leadership was on this team and. Who else seems to be in the Roll Hall of Fame? Right. She also doesn't seem to be empowered to do the work. She seems nervous, but she didn't share it when it would have been sort of.
[00:08:55] At the discussion. She had a factor in decisions that are made. And I think they need somebody that's more an executor that can take these ideas and show them how. It could become a reality. Right now they're stuck. You're not working was a team. There was one conversation, three of them from one of these two different people talking to us, different with another person to sort of change their. Unless we look back now after the David. Maybe the director didn't. Spell it out. So as our middle manager is is the director of our now is the middle manager and Leslie and David are the subordinates too. And that's kind of what it feels like to think about this in terms of position of the. So is that what's going on? Looks like it. Our online team ran out of. You tell me. Are these players functioning as a team? I guess that's the first question. And they don't seem to have open communication between everyone on the team because, David, this is David had an uneasy feeling, but it doesn't seem that he ever expressed it. And that Leslie had second thoughts then. And instead of talking about everyone, she just decides to call Alan scrapped. Do you see team dimensions surfacing here? Natural team dimensions, like there's two refineries and one thing, or it's clear they communicate. Try and get everyone on board and see. Yeah. It seems like the director might be promoting some ideas. And how is communicating a direction or trying to champion a cause, But at least that's how it appears to me, but that the details aren't ironed out enough. And so our typical strength of advancing an idea is actually hurting the TV because. Because it's not exactly clear how the process will.
[00:11:54] So what should they do? I mean, that's a little tougher question but what should they do? They shouldn't just give up. They should try to communicate, come up with a solution, maybe come up with other ideas that maybe seem more realistic and viable. They need to have a cup of coffee together. That's a start, isn't it? So maybe they all need to get in a room. So what is the what is the idea? And. Again, rather than thinking about who is in what specific role. What we're doing at this point is we're transitioning to ask the question as we think about the need for and an excellent team. For teams to function effectively. All four of these dimensions are needed. So is there a creator function here? Is there an advance or function here? Is there a refine or function? Is there is there is there an executor function? If there's not, then the leader needs to back up and say, how can we how can we make those happen within this team context? That's the key. That's the key point. Without that, it tends to break down. All four of those are needed. So if Al is the leader, then he needs to ensure that those four elements, those four dimensions are being represented. On that team. So if there is not an advance or, for example, what is leadership's role at that point? Given what we're talking about. To step up and serve, you should match your role. Okay. Or identify in advance or just fail. Exactly. So there's two options. If there's not the advance or if the advance or function is not being carried out, then there's two options. Outsource it. Find someone to come in to be the advance or in in the process, or fulfill that role oneself as the leader.
[00:14:34] That's the critical thing to understand in these processes. So practically speaking, what needs to happen here? It seems to me that they're not even sure what the idea is. Right. And so the leader needs to make sure that that idea is interpreted. And if the leader does not have the ability, the leader needs to pull in somebody who can provide that interpreting role and championing role. And that's the critical missing piece. And of course, there's no executor. But probably that's a premature step at this point because they're going to need to get the creating and the advancing and refining done before they can move the executor roles that make sense, what we're talking about here. So what I'm what I'm nudging you to do is now is to move out of thinking about specific slots and think about the big picture of the critical necessity of this balance that's needed within each team. That that that every good innovative team requires these four dimensions. That's the point. If a team doesn't have those dimensions represented is leadership's role to ensure that that happens. And we'll get more into the process. But that's a critical thing for leadership. Questions. Thoughts? I have found myself often functioning as the flexor. Uh, because again, even though I'm a creative refiner, the flex or roll is, is, is important in a leadership capacity simply because it is the one that ensures that all the dimensions are represented in the process. Okay. That's the leadership function in this. So in effect, you're going through the team dimension was a teaser in effect. In many ways, it helped you get acquainted with the tool from your own perspective. But remember, we talked about the fact that in the roles is important to know your own and to know everyone else's, and then to take one further step in as a leader to ensure that it's all happening.