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Evolutionary Team Effectiveness

Team Effectiveness

It’s Intuitively Obvious – The Enneagram Type 8 Leadership Challenge

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Enneagram Type 8s are natural born leaders.  They are confident, decisive and instinctively know what to do.  After all, it’s intuitively obvious! The big challenge for Type 8 leaders is to instill confident decision making capabilities throughout the organization. Here’s how one Type 8 leader did just that!

Intuitively Obvious

Enneagram Type 8s are in the Intuitive Center of the Enneagram.  Intuition informs Type 8 giving them a strong sense for what to do next. This sense can be so strong that Type 8 leaders will think that the course of action will be obvious to everyone.  Oftentimes, it is not obvious to others which can frustrate the 8.  In those instances, the 8 will be compelled to tell their staff what do for the sake of expediency.  That approach works well to get things done quickly but fails to instill decision-making skills within the team.

Other Decision-Making Approaches

In Teamwork 9.0, I lay out a decision-making and problem-solving approach that respects and involves all types, those who think things through, those who base decisions on feelings, and those who use intuition.  Using a systematic approach takes the best elements of all decision-making styles, allows everyone to participate, and builds team decision-making muscles.

Team Commitment

Perhaps the best aspect of team-based decision making is the sense of commitment the team feels in creating positive results.  Because the team will have been involved in the decision-making process, they will feel vested in making the outcome a success.  And, while this approach may take longer than having the Type 8 leader simply tell the team what to do, in the long run a team-based approach will save the Type 8 leader’s time by not having to be involved guiding the team every step of the way–the team will become self-guided.  The team feels empowered and delivers great results, and the Type 8 leader saves time.

Mess to Success

In this video, I describe how a Type 8 leader had the team solve a problem themselves.  The leader set the direction in Step 1 by clearly explaining the problem and the goal.  After that, the team followed the process in Teamwork 9.0 to a successful outcome with much less hands on involvement from the 8 leader.

How do Type 8s in your life lead teams?  Do they allow teams to guide themselves or do they stay directly involved? Do they use a systematic approach to decision making, or is it more ad hoc? What situations have resulted in the most effective team dynamics?

[Video Transcript]

You know how a random idea can just pop into your head?  Well, that’s your intuition speaking to you.

Now imagine that that’s happening to you all the time.

That’s what happens to my client Tom.

So a while back I got a call from Tom and I can tell he’s frustrated and he’s grumbling that his team never made a decision for themselves.  They always waited for him to tell them what to do.

Now, we know that Tom is intuitive. But the thing is, he thinks everyone else is intuitive.

And, it’s just intuitively obvious what to do.

So while Tom’s waiting for his team to make a decision, there’s no telepathic network connecting what’s in his brain to his team member’s brains.

He finally gets frustrated, tells them what to do. They do it because he’s the boss. And it gets done. And that cycle just repeats over and over and they never learned to make decision for themselves.

Well, Tom wanted to break that cycle.

When we started working on this, we identified three important factors:

  • Tom needed to recognize that his style is not the same as everyone else’s style. Not everyone is operating on intuition like he is.
  • We needed to give the team some problem solving and decision making tools. They had become so reliant on Tom telling them what to do that that they hadn’t built up any of those decision making muscles. So that’s when we decided to use the problem solving methodology that I outline in my book Teamwork 9.0.
  • Tom did need to be involved in Step 1 which is to clearly define the problem and define the goals.

Then once we’d done that Tom backed away and let the team work through the process. Which they did. And, they  came back to Tom in Step 7 in which they laid out the plan that they’d put together to solve the problem. Tom reviewed that and said, “looks great, go for it.” Which they did and successfully solved the problem.

The team was delighted because they were involved all the way through the whole process and they were committed to a successful outcome at the end.

Tom was delighted because he didn’t have to stay involved through all the steps which gave him a lot more time to tend to his other responsibilities.

And, best of all, that cycle was broken and the team could now make decisions for themselves.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you like this, please click on subscribe and share it with others.

And, stay tuned for next time when we discuss a leadership style I call – it’s nothing personal

Thanks again.

Hogs, Logs and Hot Dogs—Who Participates in Remote Meetings?

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Having worked with remote teams and online meetings for the past 25 years,  I’ve struggled through the many problems that arise—language issues, time-zone issues, technical issues, and making sure everyone is heard.  In the Before Times—before the Covid-19 Pandemic—people often had a choice whether or not to choose work with remote meetings.  If they liked it, they did it. If they didn’t like it, they might move on to a more suitable work environment. Then suddenly the pandemic imposed remote work on many people, whether they liked that working style or not.  So, who likes remote meetings? Who doesn’t? And what happens to the remote workplace as the pandemic recedes? The answers to these questions may be revealed by the Enneagram’s subtypes and Temperament triads.

No Hogs, No Logs

One of the weekly meetings I attend has a standing rule—No Hogs, No Logs.  Attendees are expected to participate (no logs) and not take over the meeting (no hogs.)  The fact that we even need this rule begs the question why some attend passively while others chime in at every opportunity.  I tend to fall into the latter category, so I find that I am continually checking myself and finding other ways to channel my desire to express myself. More on that later.

An Enneagram Analysis

The Enneagram is a powerful tool that describes nine personality dynamics.  I use this tool as the basis for the collaborative teamwork approach I describe in my book Teamwork 9.0.  Each of the nine types brings a distinct style to the meeting setting, and to remote meetings in particular.  Also, each will have a predisposition to assert themselves during the meeting.  Here is a brief overview of those inclinations:

Enneagram Type Tendency Hog or Log?

Will speak up if something isn’t right. Balanced as long as nothing is obviously wrong, otherwise will hog to focus on problem.

Tends to banter, creating personal connections. Will go with the flow, but if there’s silence, will use the time to create connections which can appear as hogging.

Wants to maintain progress towards the goal and may take an opportunity to shine. Balanced as long as the team is making progress, otherwise will hog to get and keep things on track.

Reserved but chimes in, especially on emotionally impactful conversations. Tends to log but varies depending on their feelings about the topic.

Tends to watch and listen. Will speak if spoken to. Log unless expected to speak.

Tends to watch and listen, alert for potential problems. Balanced if no potential pitfalls, otherwise will hog to focus on a foreseeable problem.

Think it, say it!  Freely shares thoughts and works to maintain a positive experience. Tends to fill any silence with fun, positive conversations which can appear as hogging.
Wants to get to the point to end the meeting and get back to work but will challenge perspectives that differ from their own. Balanced if the meeting is in control but will hog if meeting goes out of control.
Will watch and listen quietly but may chime in to ward off a possible conflict. Log unless they feel compelled to mediate a conflict.

Temperament Triads

Another way to look at the disposition of the nine Enneagram types in a meeting setting is to examine Enneagram’s Temperament triads.  I review these triads in Chapter 7 of Teamwork 9.0.

Types 3-7-8 – Assertive Types – Tending to Hog

Types 1-2-6 – Compliant Types – Tending towards balance

Types 4-5-9 – Withdrawing Types – Tending to Log

Assertive Types 3, 7 and 8 may have a tendency to hog, Withdrawing Types 4, 5 and 9 may have a tendency to log, while  Compliant Types 1-2-6 may be more balanced.  While these inclinations fit a standard understanding of the Enneagram types, they do not explain the wide range of behaviors I commonly see in meetings.  For instance, the Type 6 description does not explain my own tendency to jump in with questions or comments at every opportunity.  There must be something more…

But Wait, There’s More: Enneagram Subtypes

People with a given Enneagram type can exhibit a wide range of dispositions and behaviors. The subtypes have been developed as a tool to explain behavioral variations within a given Enneagram type, with three subtypes for each of the nine types. They are Self Preservation, Sexual (One-on-One), and Social.  Mario Sikora uses different words to describe these same subtypes: Preserving, Transmitting, and Navigating. I like Sikora’s words, so I will use them here. The Preserving subtypes strive to maintain personal security, safety and wellbeing. The Navigating subtypes focus on being a member of a group or community. And the Transmitting subtypes project themselves and build intimate relationships.

Subtypes in Meetings

Navigating subtypes are naturals in meetings.  They are adept at social interaction, fitting into the group and creating a sense of belonging.  Preserving types are less concerned with fitting in and more concerned with their own safety and security.  They’ll take a back seat and may not speak up unless their safety and security are threatened. That leaves the Transmitting types who like to project themselves into the conversation and may try to take it over.  Based on that we could generalize the following:

Transmitting Subtypes – Tending to Hog

Preserving Subtypes – Tending to Log

Navigating Subtypes – Tending towards balance

Now, if we consider both the inclinations of the three Temperament triads and the three subtypes, we would get a diagram that looks like the following with those shaded in red tending to hog, those in blue tending to log and those unshaded tending towards balance.

Hogs and Logs — Behavioral Tendencies in Meetings due to Enneagram Temperament Triads and Subtypes

I like this model because it accounts for the variations among each type based on both the Temperament triad and the subtype, giving a wide range of possible behaviors in meetings.

I’m Transmitting!

In spite of the fact that I am Type 6 in the Compliant triad, this model certainly explains my inclination as a Transmitting subtype to want to engage continuously in the meeting.  Thank goodness for the chat function!  I use chat extensively to have side conversations with other participants—One-on-One—which satisfies my subtype need without hogging the single audio channel of the remote meeting. Relatedly, I recall attending a management retreat once and during one of the talks I asked a few questions (satisfying both my Type 6 questioning and my subtype transmitting.) Later I received feedback that I was being a “hot dog.” I suppose in that setting I was expected to be a cold log!

How does your Enneagram type and subtype affect your participation in meetings?  Do you tend to be a Hog, a Log, or somewhere in between? Do you find yourself interacting with the group, focusing on one-one conversations, or checking out all together? Are you looking forward to resuming in person meetings or would you prefer to continue meeting remotely?

Sweeping Problems Under The Rug – The Enneagram Type 7 Leadership Challenge

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Enneagram Type 7 leaders are inspiring.  Their sheer optimism often carries the day to positive outcomes.  The flip side of their positivity focus is their negativity avoidance .  Yet sometimes leaders must address negative situations, and herein lies one of the big challenges for Type 7 leaders.

Compliment Sandwich

One approach Type 7s take is the compliment sandwich.  They will start the conversation with a positive comment, briefly mention the negative topic, and end on another positive note.  The recipient of the compliment sandwich will often come away confused at best and completely oblivious to the negative topic at worst.  The message will not have been conveyed.

Shared Leadership

Acknowledging the need to address negative situations, Type 7s will often form a leadership partnership with someone who is not afraid to address negative topics head on.  One common partnership I find is Type 7 with Type 1.  I describe this relationship in Chapter 7 of Teamwork 9.0—Successful Workgroup Problem Solving using the Enneagram.  Type 7 and Type 1 form a highly complementary pair, each willing to take on tasks that make the other uncomfortable.

Sweeping Problems Under the Rug

In this video, I describe how a Type 7 leader let a problem fester until it impacted the customer experience.  To address the problem, the Type 7 leader both acknowledged the problem and the fact that he himself would not be the person to lead the effort.  Rather, he assigned another person to take the leadership role, someone willing to address the problem head on.  In this case, the person he chose was a Type 2 with a strong Type 1 wing (2w1).

How do Type 7 leaders in your life address problems?  Do  they address problems themselves, or do they partner with someone to serve in that role?  What situations have resulted in the most effective problem-solving team dynamics with your Type 7 teammates?

Video Transcript

  • Ready, Fire, Aim.
  • Running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
  • Paralysis by Analysis.

We use these sayings to describe people’s behaviors.

We can also use these to describe team behaviors.

When I received a call from my client Paul, he explained that his team was not addressing product problems causing customer complaints.

Paul said that he, himself was getting calls from cranky customers.

Now, you know how some people are eternal optimists? Well, Paul just such a person.  He wants to stay focused on positive things—In fact–bless his soul—he’s constitutionally incapable of dealing with negativity.

For him, getting customer complaints was beyond the pale—which is why he called me.

After I assessed the situation, I advised him that… if problems weren’t brought directly into the light, they would never get fixed.  We ended up calling his situation, “Sweeping problems under the rug.”   What needed to happen was to fold back that rug, expose the problems, and sweep… them… out.

We also came to grips with the fact that Paul himself was NOT the person to lead this.  Being unable to focus on negatives – in this case, the product problems—he had to assign someone else to serve that role.

In my book Teamwork 9.0, I show how there are 9 distinct working styles, each with its own unique set of strengths.

We identified a person in the organization to lead this effort, John! John is a great helper and not afraid to address problems head on.

Paul also put a team around John who were capable of addressing and resolving the problems. Paul put the right people, in the right positions, at the right time.

Soon, products become more reliable, they stopped being returned and, importantly, perfectly positive Paul stopped getting gnawingly, negative calls.

The right person, in the right position at the right time – a key ingredient to highly effective teams.

 

 

Online Enneagram Workshops: March 2021

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Conducting two Enneagram workshops this month, a Back-to-Basics workshop on Wed 3/17 and an Intrinsic Motivation workshop for team leaders on Thu 3/25.  Details below.  Hope to see you there!

Title: Enneagram—Back To Basics

Description: Where did the Enneagram come from?  What are the nine Enneagram types?  What’s my type? Can I be more than one type?  Join us for this back-to-basics Enneagram discussion where we discuss these and many other topics.  Those new to the Enneagram are welcome to join.  Those familiar with the Enneagram are encouraged to share their perspectives and help those who are just beginning.

Those new to the Enneagram are encouraged to take this Enneagram quiz before the meeting:  http://www.enneasurvey.com/

Date: Wed, March 17, 2021

Time: 7:30pm to 9pm Pacific Time

Host: Center for Spiritual Life

Registration Fee: Free

Registration: For Zoom link contact Matt Schlegel at matt@evolutionaryteams.com

More information: https://www.centerforspirituallife.com/events/2021/3/17/enneagram-basics

Title: Learn the Nine Intrinsic Motivations of Teammates

Description: Come prepared to turn on your video and engage with participants in this interactive workshop in which we explore the intrinsic motivations of ourselves and our teammates. One of the biggest challenges for project managers is understanding what motivates team members. Likely, you have a good idea of what motivates yourself, and you may project your own motivation onto others. That strategy may or may not work. Some individuals may have completely different motivations, and project managers may struggle to understand these differences. The Enneagram describes nine distinct motivations and provides a framework to understand the differences and nuances of each. By knowing the primary Enneagram style of team members, project managers can understand each person’s intrinsic motivation and assign work in a motivating way.

Date: Thursday March 25, 2021

Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm Pacific Time

Host: Project Management Institute California Central Coast Chapter

Registration Fee: $20 for non-members

Registration: https://pmi-4c.org/events/event-calendar/monthly-dinner-meeting-template/march-2021-pmi-4c-monthly-meeting-telepresence-only

 

Other Upcoming Online Workshops

Center for Spiritual Life Workshops –Spring 2021 Lineup

4/21:  Enneagram Subtypes: https://www.centerforspirituallife.com/events/2021/4/21/enneagram-subtypes-workshop

5/19: Enneagram and Intrinsic Motivation

6/16: Living the Experiences of Other Types

How does the Roaring 20s’ Speakeasy Influence the Roaring 2020s?

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Themes from the Roaring 20s run right through to our Roaring 2020s.   Authors Kimberly Layne, Clare Price, Sam Cibrone and I share our thoughts on the importance of the Speakeasy both then and now, highlighting the importance of staying connected, running a business in adverse times, finding joy and happiness, and making memories.

Meet the Authors

Kimberly Layne is author of Connections Change Everything and principal at the Kimberly Connection Company: https://www.kimberly-layne.com  Kimberly coaches and consults with Leaders and Organizations who desire to upskill their leadership and organization with the necessary soft skills that drive positive relationships that increase retention, engagement and profitability in our virtual, disconnected, and dynamic world. It is proven, strong connections build better business results! Find Connections Change Everything here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947480936/  or get your personally signed copy at https://www.kimberly-layne.com/resources

Clare Price is author of Make Remote Work and principal of Octain Growth: www.octaingrowth.com Make Remote Work is for everyone who is looking to reinvent their business for our new remote economy. Find Make Remote Work here: https://www.octaingrowth.com/ebook1/

Sam Cibrone the small business myth-buster debunks these myths about small business startups and growth.  His book:  Cracking the Startup Code: 5 Myths to Starting or Growing a Small Business focuses on the mindset needed to start or grow a business, the core values needed for growth and he uses real life examples from 5 small businesses he owned in his 23 years of owning small businesses. Free copy of the book on Sam’s website: http://www.samcibronebusinesscoaching.com

Matt Schlegel is author of Teamwork 9.0—Successful Workgroup Problem Solving Using the Enneagram and principal at Schlegel Consulting: www.evolutionaryteams.com Teamwork 9.0 cracks the code for turbo charged team creativity and extraordinary team effectiveness. Find Teamwork 9.0 here:  https://www.amazon.com/Teamwork-9-0-Successful-Workgroup-Enneagram/dp/1733478809

 

Video Transcript

[Kimberly Layne]

I like the sultry secretive nature of the Speakeasy. They defied the law, had unlimited hours, and proliferated anywhere and everywhere… including covert locations such as stank basements, intimate back rooms, and unofficial store locations.

Interestingly enough, people flocked to these hideaways. Why? because as natural human beings we seek pleasure, enjoyment, celebration, and community! (especially during hard times). Most likely the Speakeasy and its alcohol was fortified by a wealthy owner, and its party goers were the poor.  For the first time in American history, rich and poor patrons illegally drank together. It did not stop there, in some cases even racial barriers were broken down, and African Americans and whites in unison indulged outside of the law, and celebrated life and community.

I believe when natural ability is to come together in community and in celebration especially in challenging times, is denied, we will find avenues even, if illegal, in order to meet our huma needs for human connection.  We will dissolve differences, and absolve judgment of race, and socio and economic status. Why? Because At the end of the day we are all humans craving connection.

As we move forward in our celebration of our roaring 20’s I challenge you to dissolve manufactured barriers of interaction and to establish easy pathways to human connection. WE all are craving connection!  It is something we all are craving!.

[Matt Schlegel]

That’s fantastic, Kimberly.

Let me share a story.

It was towards the end of the day, and a co-worker came into my office completely exasperated.  She started listing off all the challenges that she was facing on her project.  After listening a while, I suggested that we head over to a bar, have beer, and talk things through. She stared at me in amazement before saying, “okay.”  We got over there and had a long conversation about all the issues.

That was twenty years ago, and my co-worker, now friend, still brings up this story.  For her, it was exactly the thing that she needed at that moment, to disconnect from the problems for a while and reflect on them objectively.  For me, it highlights the value of building relationships with co-workers both inside and out of the workplace.  A change of scenery broadens our perspectives.  And a drink can certainly help us into more open conversations.  It does help us to Speak. Easily.

What do you think, Sam?

[Sam Cibrone]

Thank you, Matt.

The Roaring 20s Speakeasys teach us many lessons about business to apply to the Roaring 2020s.  The interesting thing is that they demonstrate many characteristics on Entrepreneurship.  For example, Speakeasys were places that understood the concept of taking risks.  As you know Alcohol was prohibited so selling a was dangerous.  As businesses we must take risks to be successful. Secondly, Speakeasys demonstrate the ability to meet a want or need of the consumer. In those days, it provided alcohol and more importantly socialization.  Currently, businesses must focus on the constantly changing needs of customers.  The Speakeasys teach us many lessons about the culture of the Roaring 20s which correlate to the Roaring 2020s.  We learned that taking risks is vital for progress.  In addition, we learned that you must solve a want or need of the customer.  So, when we reflect back on the Speakeasys, let’s remember those lessons, so that we can have a great Roaring 2021!!!

[Clare Price]

When I see pictures of the Speakeasys of the Roaring 20s, I see joy, exuberance and just plain fun. Ok. Maybe a little bit too much fun. Speakeasies have something to say to business owners today as we start to recover from our pandemic prohibitions. That is, how can you do more for your customers? How can you bring them joy? For one of my manufacturing clients it was literally searching the globe to source materials a vendor needed to make custom packaging for a virtual trade show event. In true Speakeasy fashion, let’s all find ways to bring joy into the lives of our customers and employees.

 

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