When Teams and Leadership Do Not See the Same – Part 2

In the previous post (part 1), I wrote about what leadership should do when the team and leadership do not see the same issues as pertinent or most pressing. It is easy for teams to end up feeling the victims of leaders’ decisions if the leaders are not careful in how they manage the different views.

While leadership has responsibility to ensure that there is forward movement, the team also has a role that must not be ignored. In this post, we look at few things that the team must do.

The Leader

Teams must embrace that the buck stops with leadership. When strategies or initiatives fail, picking up the pieces starts with leadership. I am not saying that teams are not involved in whatever turnaround, but leadership has a greater responsibility in ensuring that solutions are manifest.

While teams can be involved in the decision making process they must remember that it is ultimately leadership’s responsibility to make certain decisions.The team being a part of the ‘decision making process’ is overrated at times. The team must own decisions even if they are not actively involved in the decision making process.

When the team and leadership do not agree on what the pertinent and most pressing issues are, the team can raise concerns and views in a constructive way, but own and act on decisions as if they were their own. Team, let leadership lead.

Agree, Really?

It is rare for everyone in an entire enterprise to agree on every course of action. When everyone on the team always shares the same thinking in everything it means someone is not thinking. A different perspective is not synonymous with division.

When the team and leadership do not see the same issues as most pressing and leadership makes a call that the team does not agree with, the team must learn to embrace the decision as their own. Success for decisions that leadership makes is ultimately everyone’s success.

Unity

When teams and leadership do not see the same issues as pertinent and most pressing, teams must be careful not to create a rift between them and leadership. Doing so is counterproductive. If perpetuated, the “us and them” syndrome destroys unity, sabotages the mission and ultimately the organization and valuable, productive energy is lost.

Choose to fight battles that will benefit the enterprise not your ego. When it comes down to it choose unity and rally behind leadership.

Question: What are some of the worst or best ways you think teams can handle situations of differing perspectives with their leadership?

Related Posts:

When Teams and Leadership Do Not See the Same – Part 1

What Having Different Perspectives In A Team Means

[illustration by Sasquatch I cc]