Not that long ago, teams were typically composed of people with similar skills working in the same place. Their efforts were based on the idea that by working together in a well-managed process, they could deliver replicable results. They primarily operated with efficiency and effectiveness but would frequently encounter obstacles, such as internal siloes or bureaucratic processes, […]

By now, it’s well understood that if you want innovation, you need collaboration. The ‘lone genius’  idea is seeming less and less relevant. Even Shakespeare had collaborators! So I’ve been wondering: why is it that so many of us still seem to think that, as leaders, the most efficient way to get things done is […]

In his Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni outlines five common dysfunctions that cause teams to be ineffective. Having discussed the first two – absence of trust and fear of conflict – I’m now going to look at the third, lack of commitment. This is something I’ve often seen people grapple with during coaching […]

What is it about feedback that makes it seem to move in just the one direction: downwards? Every now and then, yes, it does move sideways. But it very, very rarely moves upwards. No, feedback is almost always something that passes from a senior team member to a more junior one. It’s as if the […]

One question that has long plagued organizations is how to improve performance among frontline workers, the people who actually drive customer experience. Our work with hundreds of companies offers a clear and simple answer. Read this brilliant HBR article to find out more

Nobody likes conflict. But when you’re a leader trying to manage a struggling team, it can feel as if you’re veering from one conflict situation to the next: stakeholders are unhappy, customers are unhappy and staff are unhappy. The only way to fix the first two is to address the unhappiness and underperformance of your […]