In my previous blog, I noted the frequency in our practice that we deal with this question or issue. As promised, I will guide you through how you can structure an authentic conversation that can make a difference when dealing with this issue.
This is not a conversation you have with the whole team, rather with each individual team member. When preparing for such a conversation you go through the following items:
- Start by asking permission, by stating your concern and your commitment. The latter should always be on how you can make you and the other successful; otherwise the conversation will go nowhere. For example, one concern could be that if the executive does not take different actions, the company will cease to exist. Your commitment should be that you are willing to work together to identify those actions that will make the executive, the team and company successful. When you deliver the message this way, it is highly likely that the executive you are speaking with is willing to listen what you have to say.
- Then you clearly state the facts that back up your claims and interpretations. It is only a fact if you can instrument, video or audio record the action. If you cannot do any of these three, it is an interpretation. You need facts to ground your interpretations, such as your question. For example, if inventory management is important in your industry, you can measure if your inventory is larger or smaller than the industry average. As you can see, just this one fact can have different, and even opposing interpretations of why this might be good or bad.
- Show the executive how these facts bring you to the interpretation: “the management team currently does not have the capacity to meet new business demands.” If you cannot point to any facts to ground this interpretation, then you have to take a moment to see if you are just making up a story (we all do quite a bit of that). Most likely, once you have identified all your facts, there is a good chance that there will be other, and equally powerful, interpretations that would lead to different actions.
- As you go through this conversation, it is important that you highlight the mood and emotion that this creates. It is likely that one emotion in this case is fear, the fear of going out of business. The mood it creates might show up, as “we are doomed.” What this means is that although you are still there as an employee, your mind is somewhere else most likely looking for your next opportunity.
You should go through this, and then the other person should go through the same four steps. You should do this back and forth as most likely there will be some facts and interpretations that the other has about you, that you didn’t know. In my experience, this very conversation will open up some new interpretations that you both did not think possible ahead of this conversation. It is likely that you would both be surprised by each other’s interpretations, but it will also highlight what was missing.
These are the beginning steps of creating a very powerful and revealing conversation that will lead to creating different results. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or share any similar stories.
