Vanguard Thinking and Leading Voices

" Companies have traditionally emphasized leadership competencies, not team competencies.  Frequently we see executives who are strongly turf-oriented and who prioritize the success of their function or division above that of the organization. Correspondingly, team members may be willing to take advice only from higher-ups, not recognizing the vital role of peer-to-peer feedback. All that needs to change. The transformation of an organization must begin with the transformation of its teams; team leaders and members must commit to new behaviors."

"For decades the role of the leader was elevated.   But the world's best teams don't win because of leadership alone.   They win largely because of their teamship. (In a teamship-driven organization:) A good leader gives feedback;   a great leader assumes the team gives each other feedback.  A good leader holds members of the team accountable; a great leader assures the team holds each other accountable.  A good leader keeps the energy of the team strong; a great leader assures the team is responsible for each other's energy.  But more than the leader, it's the responsibility of the team itself!

“How well team members collaborate with other team members, and how well teams collaborate with other teams, will greatly impact the success of any project and therefore any organization.  Creating a collaborative workplace takes time and committed leadership, but the results are worth the effort.   Undeniably, the future of organizations is in the hands of teams, and team coaches are the key to turning up the dial of collaboration, which is the primary driver of team effectiveness and performance."

"People often don't even realize they're acting adversarial because their attitudes are so automatic and unconscious. That's why it's so important to increase self-awareness about attitudes, fears, and defensiveness.  Unconscious attitudes are like the bulk of an iceberg, which is hidden below the surface.   Most of what people do is based on attitudes and beliefs that are below the surface of their own consciousness. As Prof. Vance Kennedy says, 'The hardest part of conflict resolution is the internal work that must be done before collaboration can occur.' "

“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology.  It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.  Leaders nod their heads as they seem to grasp the truth of the statement while simultaneously surrendering to the impossibility of actually making it happen.   And that is where the rarity of teamwork comes into play.  The fact remains that teams, because they are made up of imperfect human beings, are inherently dysfunctional"

 “We can invite our client into a perspective shift that dislodges his/her comfortable (and limiting) structure of interpretation. This is simultaneously disorienting and liberating. A human can see only so much from within his or her world. By freeing the client from the constraints of the current view, a new view is possible that can lead to dramatic new insights and possible actions.”  

“The point isn't to be the hero and solve things; the point of the leader in a complex world is to enable and unleash as many heroes and as many solutions as possible."

“Running on autopilot is a function of our conditioning - the subconscious part of ourselves that has been conditioned by thoughts, patterns, and beliefs.  It is only when you are conscious that you are able to 'see' yourself - a process of self-awareness that can suddenly reveal so many of the previously hidden forces constantly at work molding you, manipulating you, and holding you back."

"An organization cannot evolve beyond its leadership stage of development.” 

"Often work groups are labelled as teams, but they act like independent people who happen to be in the same function, group, location, etc.  We view high performance teams as groups of people who work together in interdependent ways and continuously ask 'what must we do together to meet our goals?' Successful teams need to be clear about where they are going, how they will get there, and to know when they have arrived.”  

 “Leaders and people at all levels in all systems are increasingly presented with disruptive challenges and changes that require them to let go of old patterns of thinking and behavior and to sense new future possibilities.   How do we confront these challenges and cross human developmental thresholds?  It will require a new quality of awareness and attention: attention not only to 'what' we do and 'how' we do it but to the inner source from which we operate - which for most of us is a blind spot.” 

"Doing the right thing poorly is painful for high achievers. It’s much more satisfying to do something well, even if it is not the best use of your time. Moving your A game to a new level or in a new direction takes humility, it takes practice, and it takes patience (not necessarily your strong suit). But it is a necessary step on the road to doing the right thing well.”