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The C Word

2 December 2018

Language is really interesting. Imagine going into a Starbucks and having to mime a flat white with a muffin. Maybe give it a go and perk up a tiring week?

Without words, life becomes tricky!

I am constantly amused at how many words there are in business and how many of those are actually useful, and not simply industrial jargon.

When we drill down into a concept it can become surprisingly slippery. Take ‘leadership’ for example.

Tuckman’s 4 stages of team development is useful: forming, storming, norming, performing. Good to know and helpful for a leader to be aware of.

What I’ve found, on my travels, is that people know the model and yet can’t articulate behaviours that clearly identify each stage. We have a vague idea that ‘storming’ means disagreement and strong feelings, but what’s the difference between a team stuck in this stage and a team who are just having a bad day?

Well this brings me to the C word. No, not carrots, or cookies, or even (I can’t get the word out) Chrisssttmaa….nope couldn’t do it.

I’m talking about collaboration. An essential word for all leaders to have front and centre.

Let’s watch the team…

Are people listening? Or are they just waiting for the other person to finish speaking, before saying what’s been in their head all along?

Are they focussing on the problem, or the personalities?

Are they sharing skills and working out the best way?

And most importantly, is the leader attending to all these questions?

The effective leader is the person who needs to foster a collaborative environment, explain the goals clearly and invite ideas.

With the C word in our head we can quickly see (no pun intended) how well the team is doing and what more they might need from us.

Leadership made Cimple …now that was a sort of a pun.

Have fun promoting genuine collaboration this week.

Next week: Leaveism