Meanings matter

Some leaders wish they could do it all themselves rather than navigate team dynamics.

Could there be an easier way? Alignment and cohesion can be helped by exploring what ‘doing it all’ means - there will be many versions within an organisation.

For a small retail owner, ‘doing it all’ might mean carrying the responsibility for the entire business’s success. Meanwhile, for staff on the shop-floor, ‘doing it all’ could mean doing more than their fair share of operational tasks.

Conversations that unearth assumptions tend to make further unspoken beliefs and feelings apparent. Often this can humanise previously vilified actors, or at least produce plausible rationale for maligned behaviour. Greater understanding tends towards improved satisfaction and performance.

Have you come across an organisational dilemma where exploring unspoken beliefs could have facilitated change?