Something Is Wrong With Our Teams!

Lately I’ve been working with a lot of organizations across multiple industries and the question is the same. Can you help us with our teams? Something isn’t working and we think that you can help…

Organizational issue diagnosis is an undervalued and often overlooked area of change management work. Lack of organizational diagnosis is also one of the most common reasons for wasted time, money, and resources. Taking time in this area helps answer the pivotal question: What is actually going on?

When a leader comes to me with what they view as the issues and already has a solution in mind I’m naturally wary. This is less a reflection of the leader and their individual skills but more that I know that leaders rarely know all the true variables of an issue. And even if they do happen to know all the variables, they likely do not know the true answers. Internal systems are imperfect in their collection of accurate and honest data/feedback. 

As messages get filtered up in an organization, it’s like the game of telephone except with more tangible consequences. The frontline may be screaming for aid, resources, and issue resolution but as the message gets retranslated and reinterpreted higher and higher up the organization, the less urgent the request seems and the less clear the ‘ask’ is. 

I regularly hear from leaders sharing If only I knew what my team needed, then I could help them. Will you tell us what they need? Of course when it gets to employee conversations, it’s clear almost immediately that it isn’t just one thing that is needed but a whole series of things. Additionally employees often know the specific changes that were made and the assumptions that were erroneous in those changes. Most often however, leadership can’t accept or execute on the task. 

I feel the pain of the leader who hears a request they know they cannot fulfill. One path forward is to try and empathize or validate the concerns of an employee. While noble, it’s a short term band aid that slowly erodes employee morale over time. Imagine you are that employee for a moment… Week after week, month after month, you outline, highlight, discuss, articulate, elevate, and position your case/perspective for support (in whatever form that may be). And week after week, your leader empathizes but takes no action. What would you do? How would you feel about the organization? Would you stay? Would you be an effective team member?

Granted, there are many teams that appear dysfunctional, under performing, and struggling with meeting outcomes. But I ask again, do you really know what the issue is? And if you’re that senior leader with teams that are struggling in some way, before you prescribe a solution, make sure you have a better understanding of what the real issue is.