Is your team healthy and focused?

Mine wasn't.

I started to dread going to work for another exhausting day. We were busy alright, but it seemed like we were busy with the wrong things. Our decreasing results seemed to have much less to do with a product or systems, but more to do with a performance drag from:

  • internal politics,
  • low morale,
  • boring meetings,
  • no one admitting mistakes, asking for help or holding each other accountable,
  • having the same discussion multiple times because it was unclear if a decision was made,
  • an unwillingness to say in a boardroom, what was being said adamantly in the parking lot,
  • the meetings when people talked a lot but nothing was really said, everyone just tip toed around the issues or didn’t know why they were there.

Nor did the organization have a clear goal, so making strategic decisions felt impossible.  

We lacked focus.  

As a result, we were spread too thin and felt exhausted doing everything… and yet some days it felt like we achieved nothing.  Daily I wrestled with:

  • Who is responsible for what?  
  • Why are we doing that?  
  • How can I get off this hamster wheel?
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Worst of all...

I was the leader and had tried hard to fix this, but it wasn’t going away. I felt too caught up in it, and I couldn’t see the way out.

Frankly, I was confused, frustrated and overwhelmed.

Turns out, so was everyone else.

Finally I hit my breaking point and took action. I hired a consultant who walked my team though Organization Clarity and Team Health models from author, Patrick Lencioni.

He pressed the pause button on the status quo rat race we were in and asked the questions that were long overdue.

We finally clarified our distinct purpose, unique core values, and the strategic anchors to success.  We address poor behavior and performance, conflict and accountability. 

Then we focused the team on a single goal…finally.  

It felt like he picked up our train wreck and set us back on our tracks – the new, clear, straight tracks! And I was finally excited to drive the train again.

consultant

That's the day things started to change.

Since then, we use the organizational clarity concepts from “The Advantage” by Patrick Lencioni and the communication tools from “Dare to Lead” by Brene Brown. It took practice, but my team finally became clear and focused. I started to lead with new clarity and skills.

Soon, I had the company turned around, increased our revenue by 40%, and stopped the leak of good staff.

There’s no more banging my head on the wall, walking on eggshells or painful meetings.  Now my team communicates directly, are focused and finally are working together towards a clearly defined goal.  

This means, we know when to say “no” to ideas and projects and how each of us play a role in our success. Things are running better than I ever imagined. 

That was all several years ago.  

Establishing a Clarity Advantage at the beginning of a business is much easier, or intervening when there are only
EARLY WARNING SIGNS, such as:

  • quiet meetings with an unclear purpose, boring discussion and few concise decisions,
  • decisions lack strategy and are made spontaneously because it’s another “good” idea, everyone else is doing it, the price is right, or the someone is just in a mood,
  • it is unclear who does what and delegating tasks is awkward and even vague,
  • a lack of clarity is normalized and no one can really tell you the companies goals for the next 6 months,
  • the boss is the only one address accountability and performance, and
  • staff leave work early whenever possible.

If you have any of the above WARNING SIGNS or if you answered YES

to any of the Organization Clarity and Team Health questions above, let’s talk about how we can get you there. I would love to spare you some of the pain and frustration I have experience and move you quickly into your Clarity Advantage.  

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"In order to maximize its results, an organization must be smart and healthy. Smart organizations are good at decision sciences like strategy, marketing, finance and technology, all of which are critical. Healthy organizations create the kind of cultures that take advantage of being smart."
Patrick Lencioni
Author of "The Advantage"

F.A.Q.

Let’s get clear.

Yes, your team can be located anywhere in the world.  We will use online platforms to gather and communicate.

These principles have been successfully used to help all types of organizations from airlines to churches, professional sport teams to family businesses, and even military units.  Regardless of the type of work you do, establishing organizational clarity and a healthy team will improve your effectiveness, increase results and create a competitive advantage in your industry.

Building your own clarity advantage is not fluffy, soft or easy. This work requires rigorous clarity, not visualizing your future or catching a teammate falling from a tree.

Your clarity advantage is uniquely crafted for your team, highly focused on your organization, and most of all… will be actionable each and every day. 

 It will immediately make those decisions you’ve been wrestling with clear and obvious.

Yes.  Building your clarity advantage now will save you future headaches and wasted time and resources.  You are probably already noticing that the demands on your time are increasing, there are numerous good ideas to pursue, and everyone is waiting on you for an answer.  This is a classic Warning Sign! 

It is time.

That’s a tricky position to be in.  I’d encourage you to speak to your boss and mention that you read something that resonated with you and ask if they would be willing to look it over.   Or email them the Team Health Quiz above.

If they are remotely healthy leaders, they will be excited and open to growth. 

If they are offended, you may want to consider if this is a healthy environment for you to be in.  You might find it helpful to learn more about how you can create a healthy environment with personal boundaries in the INDIVIDUAL section.