If you want excellent relationship in your teams, get them win first! That is the way Alain Cardon, – the latest presenter of the Coaching without Borders program series – explained the importance of result focused coaching. You never see a soccer team who has bad relationships, if they are a winning team. You can only see bad relationships in teams of losers. Work on achieving results, then they will start respecting each other and the relationships improve. Therefore, teams need to focus on high operational interfaces. If we remain at the soccer team example, their focus should be on how effectively and quickly they can pass the ball, to generate a circulating energy within the team in order to double the results and achieve a better outcome.
Also according to him coaching works with emerging processes. You don’t know where you are going; you trust the process and things will emerge. As you proceed with the client, things will emerge that your head and your client’s head didn’t see coming. And this is a bottom-up approach.
Interestingly in the last twenty years most of organisations have increased centralized control systems. That is the main concerns of management nowadays: increasing centralized controls (e.g. quality systems, processes), in order to reduce cost and improve effectiveness.
Centralized control system is a top-down approach, but motivation, innovation, ownership, engagement and job satisfaction especially with the younger generation work the other way round. With centralized approaches organisation can actually kill all the emerging processes and potentials which lie within the organisation.
The question is how to create teams and organisations where there is a place for emerging processes, where there are circulating energies working towards doubling the results without being disrupted by different polarities (parallel energies in the opposite direction)?
There are four levels of team work and organisation structure with different characteristics:
FIRST LEVEL – DIRECTIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL POLARITY
This structure is commonly experienced in formal, traditional family-type, conservative, rather directive organisational culture.
How it looks like:
- leaders play a very central role and delivering lengthy one-way formal speeches to the people
- leaders have the right to be there, people are there because they are told to be there
- layout of the room: theatre or classroom and is typically reinforced with a podium for the speaker
- same message given to everyone at the same time
- people publicly expected responses: general approval, nods and smiles
- disagreement can only emerge in the bathrooms, in one-on-one relationships, behind the boss’s back
- power of law
- micro-management, the boss is expected to decide on everything
- organisation’s capacity to react to a rapidly changing environment and to implement creative collaborative teamwork is rather low
SECOND LEVEL – INFORMATIONAL AND TECHNOCRATIC POLARITY
This type of system can be captured in so-called matrix organisations where all departments report directly to headquarters rather than be allowed to implement cross-cooperation locally.
How it looks like:
- leader discusses issues with each one of the team members in turn
- one-on-one meetings are in more favour
- leader is positioned in the middle or acting as a hub
- in the meetings everyone has their own PowerPoint presentation
- more argumentative, endless debate, everyone try to prove their right to the boss
- less time spend on conversing or having a dialogue
- displayed over-detailed expertise with over-detailed convincing arguments
- power of expertise
- layout of the room: U-shape
- teamwork is low in this system because each team member is only focus on working with the boss, therefore, none of the team members really and effectively work together
- overwhelming time and energy can be spent in territorial defensive or offensive power games, so territorial feuds are very common
THIRD LEVEL – RELATIONAL POLARITY
This type of organisational culture is more common in mature organisations with heavy history that privilege participation and approaches designed to reach consensus decisions through lengthy consulting processes.
How it looks like:
- different levels of energy planes can be observed
- the first energy plane occurs a series of exchange between two fighting members of the team
- the second energy plane, the rest, often including the boss are passive witnesses to the conflict
- focus on who is right or who do you prefer
- the system gets stuck because the problem is more emotional or relational in nature than strictly technical or professional
- it is more about power of influence: hidden coalitions and behind the scenes manipulations strategies
- you can see a lot of this in Europe, they like and aiming consensus but because there is no such thing as consensus according to Alain, all is about relational manipulation
- Because the focus on the opposing members therefore the team inefficient to avoid facing future-oriented professional challenges and change
FOURTH LEVEL – INTERRUPTIVE ENERGY CIRCULATION
This structure emerged from the digital revolution and speed of change and exchange, therefore, can be captured in some creative start-up companies.
How it looks like:
- the discussion or information flow freely and rapidly in all directions and between all of its members
- short interactions
- work as a network-system
- rapid and multi-direction flowing energy
- could be completely chaotic or extremely constructive
- “yes, I agree, and we could…” type of communication
- apparent disorder often takes the discussion into unexpected directions, which is a good indicator of creativity and shared responsibility
- power of action
- if there is no co-management it could go all over the place and end up in frustration
- co-creating, co-construction and co-management is a must
All these structures have advantages and disadvantages. Although each also reflects large organisation cultures, also all types of energy exchange from polarities to circularity take place during the meetings both between the team members and with the team leader. My role as a Leadership Team Coach is to observe and decode the characteristics of the organisation culture and help the teams to achieve breakthrough business results. In more mature team and organisational culture a natural form of circularity is quickly and naturally installed and everyone including team leader learns and grows together.
- What characteristics can you recognize in your team and your organisation?
- What patterns can you notice?
- How could your team and organisation be more effective?
- What are your team’s winning strategy?
You can read my original article on the topic in Hungarian at Forbes.hu: https://forbes.hu/legyel-jobb/siker-csapat-munka-igy-aramlik-az-energia/