In my last post I talked about radical integrity. Brian Adkins commented:
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Thanks, Brian!
I’m interested in the assumption that “And why should I believe you next time?” is perhaps missing the point. But that’s exactly what the boss should and does wonder and trying to pretend that’s not what we’re thinking lies at the heart of mistrust, lack of accountability and organizational dysfunction.
The nice thing about the question, “what’s going to be different next time?” is that it asks the question without assuming the root cause. Every team has a different reason for missing a deadline and the team itself needs to be able to see that there’s a problem and figure out the solution without the boss’s agenda muddying the waters. Building internal capability to see and solve patterns of mediocrity only happens when the boss lets the team do that work. So the question what will be different leaves the door open to whatever answer the team finds.
Perhaps the answer is that I won’t make a promise I can’t keep. But it could also be:
- I’ll let you know as soon as I know I can’t keep the promise
- I’ll ask for help before things get out of hand
- I’ll look after myself so I don’t get overloaded by other projects
- I’ll prioritize my work better
- I’ll get some technical training so I’m smarter about how to use the tools effectively
- I’ll bring in extra help at a critical point I’ve identified
- Or something else entirely
I agree with you that the boss should ask for and expect a continual stream of information from the team about its progress, the problems it’s identified and the action it’s taking to solve those problems, but it’s not the boss who should be analyzing and fixing the team’s integrity.
The boss is there to keep the team in action, moving toward greatness. It’s up to the team to have integrity and be trustworthy. To do so team members must work together to understand commitment challenges and use everything available to break through blocks to deliver on its promises. The most useful conversation about promises is one that happens within the team. Teams that can catch integrity issues and deal with them right away are the ones most likely to deliver great solutions. The less the boss rescues the team, the stronger the team’s capabilities will become.
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