February 29, 2012 2 Comments

Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership

Today’s guest post is by Sean Glaze, an expert in team-building and coaching. You can read more about him at the end of the post.  Here’s Sean…

You probably take your car in for an oil change every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.

While at the garage, a good mechanic will take that opportunity to perform an inspection on the major systems in your vehicle to keep you on the road and traveling safely.

And if you are smart, you go to the doctor every year or so for a wellness check-up to ensure your health is maintained.

When you are working with a team of people, though, it is likely that you have not invested time in gauging the perceptions of your group to ensure the team is functioning as well as it might.

Not everyone feels comfortable bringing up or asking questions that may bring issues to the forefront of your team meeting conversations, but they can be a powerful tool for identifying problems that may be lurking beneath the surface of your group interactions and sabotaging your overall productivity or success.

If you keep sweeping problems under the rug, eventually you are bound to trip over them.  A refusal to acknowledge issues does not make them disappear.

So, as a leader, it is in your best interests to offer your people the opportunity to identify possible tough team issues that need to be addressed – and the best way to draw out that information is by asking insightful and tough questions at your next team meeting.

No matter how solid and clear your team plans or roles may be, you will find that, whenever people are involved, culture trumps strategy – and creating a culture where individuals and their perceptions or insights are valued will produce tremendous results.

Here is a list of eight tough questions that leaders can use to help their team to diagnose and then more easily treat the problems that may be growing, unknown, in an organization

1. What needs to happen today to make this meeting worthwhile to everyone?

2. What can I change to help this team function more smoothly?

3. What things have gotten better since our last meeting?  Worse?

4. What is keeping us from keeping the main thing the main thing?

5. Who needs to communicate more clearly or frequently?

6. What is waiting around the corner that we need to prepare for?

7. What can/should we do differently that our customers can’t get elsewhere?

8. Why would somebody want to join this team?  Why would someone leave?

Taking the time to introduce and discuss these questions as part of your next team meeting can lead to difficult conversations… but difficult conversations accomplish a great deal more than polite and shallow ones.

As a leader, it is your job to find and acknowledge issues that may adversely impact your team’s productivity.  These tough team meeting questions are a terrific way to allow your people to share what may be bubbling under the surface and keep them from sabotaging your success by remaining unrecognized and unresolved.

If your team is experiencing personal conflicts or morale issues, you may want to consider a business team building event to provide them the time and opportunity to improve relationships, communication, and leadership skills.

- Sean Glaze has enjoyed motivating athletes and inspiring teams for nearly 20 years, and has consistently turned under-achievers into winners – both on and off the court – with his practical tools and focus on great relationships and team-building.  As an experienced author, speaker, and team-building coach, Sean entertains and influences audiences with a unique blend of dynamic content, interactive activities, and practical action steps. Learn more about him here: www.GreatResultsTeambuilding.net.