Better Software - September 2008 - (Page 38) You have two choices: Keep this person involved with the team at some level or remove him. What is your first response? Your intuitive answer may be the right one, but, before you act, answer a few more questions. How valuable is he to your team and to your project? Can your team succeed without him? What are the negative impacts if he Creating a Culture of leaves? If he stays? Trust “Apply the ‘vacation test,’” advises “Just pick people who are trustmy colleague Niel Nickolaisen. “See worthy.” I get this answer at times from how the team does when the ‘problem’ colleagues. team member goes on ‘vacation’ for a “And, how often do leaders actually few days.” Take this person off the team get to do that?” I reply. and give him something else to do. Place You are assigned a project. You pick him somewhere where he cannot interpeople you know are good, competent, fere with the day-to-day and trustworthy; give functions of the team. them responsibility to What happens to team deliver within the con- As the leader, your role, style, and behavior will lay productivity? To motivastraints and they betion and morale? the groundwork for building a culture of trust. come a trusting, highIf you come to the performance team, all conclusion that the team within fifteen minutes. benefits from his not being there, then You may have this experience once in project. Most importantly, ask if they remove him from the team as soon as your lifetime—or not. Realistically, we trust everyone on the team. Team mempossible. But what if you need to keep are given our team members with all bers may be uncomfortable answering him involved with the team at some their foibles, shared history, and excess such direct questions from their new leader, so listen for the “ring of truth” in level? baggage. Again, you have two choices: Ask the what people say and make note of what team to integrate this person in some way they leave out of the conversation. Can Team Members Trust Walk the floor. Watch and listen into the project, or create a “one-person Each Other? to how the team works. Is one person island” inside the team. Both are difficult I’ve been asked, “What do you do, talking all the time? Are people ignoring and will take time and effort to make Pollyanna, when there is one person on one or more of their fellow team mem- happen. Without this person present, sit a team that no one trusts?” bers? Are there constant put-downs or with team members and ask them how “Are you sure they don’t trust him?” dismissals of one person’s ideas? Spend they can work with him. What team I answer. “Is it a lack of trust or has trust time in the break room. How do team norms would have to be established to been broken?” members interact there? Do they avoid make it happen? What would they need Broken trust is like a cut rope. There someone? Do they talk about ideas? Do to be successful with him on the team? are many strands, wound together, that they avoid eye contact with some of their What do they need from you to make it give the rope its strength. Once cut, re- team members? Listen to the interactions happen? What does the team want you pairing the rope requires matching each within the team and with people outside to do when the disruptive person inpiece, strand for strand. Not only does the team, and look at their results and terferes too much with the other team members? Come to an understanding it take time, but the rope will never be progress. the same and will not have the strength Look for trends or threads in your that, while the team must work with this of the original rope. Can a distrusted conversations and observations. Did you disruptive person, he does not have to person repair his relationship with the sense any red flags or unauthentic an- be viewed as a team member. The team rest of the team? Does he want to? And swers? Did one name come up again and can collaborate without him and make does he have the skills to do so? Pos- again as someone who did not deliver as decisions with this person only when it sibly, but the time and effort to do so is he said he would? Did one person con- involves his work. Everyone must understand that very high, and the results might not be sistently withhold information? Was he sabotaging the disruptive person is not optimal or even acceptable. constantly noted as hard to get along However, there may be no broken with, never listening, or saying one thing acceptable and would be seen as sabotrust in the team, just lack of trust, and doing another? If the issue of dis- taging the team’s efforts. Ensure that the which is an easier problem to solve. trust seems to point to one person, you team will be measured as a team, not as individuals. While team members can’t Trust can be developed. Take the time to face a hard decision. observe and assess to see how deep the lack of trust might be and identify some possible causes. Interview team members individually and in confidence. Ask them how they like their work on the team, what’s working, and what’s not. If they could fix what’s not working, what would they do and why? Ask what obstacles are getting in the way of their individual success and their team’s success. Do they feel like the team can deliver the expected results? If not, what can be done to improve their chances? Check to see if they feel the right people are on the team and that everyone has the knowledge, experience, and commitment to complete the 38 BETTER SOFTWARE SEPTEMBER 2008 trust the people on your team, why are they on your team? For that matter, why are they in your organization? If your answer to the question, “Can I trust everyone on this team?” is yes, then accept the leadership role for this team. Now what do you do? www.StickyMinds.com http://www.StickyMinds.com
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