What if you could be both authentic and effective as a team leader? What if you could experience a future where you and your team members could show up every day with courage and trust rather than the watered down version of yourselves? Shelve the what ifs; this is the reality of a team leader.

Coffee Shop Confidential

“Well, this new manager certainly has a way about her!”, Barb said. “I have to admit though, I’m a little overwhelmed with all the changes and the new direction.” Barb and I had just settled down for a face to face chat over coffee, and she was eager to talk about all the changes after the company reorg.

Even if you aren’t the person calling the meeting, you can control the experience for yourself and others. In their recently published book, How to Fix Meetings, authors Graham Alcott and Hayley Watts use the term “steering from the back seat” to describe ways in which you can influence the outcome as a participant.

Did you know that only 5% of decisions are made by single leaders, and 95% of decisions require team collaboration? Despite this, technically talented teams are often hesitant to share their opinions due to social conditioning or lack of experience.

When an organization needs to make a series of strategic decisions, the ponderous rituals related to strategic planning just won’t cut it if answers are needed urgently.

To help your team get into high gear, start with coming together to build shared agreements on how you will interact with each other, so you can stop guessing and start communicating.