Looking at the big picture

One of the challenges faced by any CEO or a functional head today is managing conflict and inspiring the senior management team constantly for positive change and innovation.

About 80% of organisations that we have worked with in the past said that senior managers working in silo was their biggest challenge. Most senior management meetings would see someone struggling to resolve conflicts between various heads including the marketing head, sales head, finance head and customer-care head. Sadly, taking these cross-functional team members out for rafting or trekking does not solve the issue as team issues are more complex than mere bonding. Ask any human resources head or training head in an organisation about what specific trainings take most of their budget; the answer would be, ‘team building’.

The CEO’s role, therefore, is clearly to create a united, aligned and highly motivated senior management team that sees the big picture not just their silos. Many team issues are systemic issues. People, given choices, choose the option that promises to give them the greatest reward. If the CFO’s reward is linked to the money he saves for the organisation and the risks he avoids, and the CEO is a risk taker who wants that acquisition, both of them may find themselves at loggerheads.

If each of your department heads are rewarded based just on what they do in their department, chances are that they focus only on that and in the processes might damage another department’s interest. If a wall of cupboards were to be placed across the middle of the office, this would also form a ‘natural force’ that influences the communication flow and may separate the group that is working there into two further sub-groups. look for those invisible cupboards and walls.

Some team issues are due to personality styles and inter-personal relationships. We are all unique individuals and we must adjust and accept different personality types and styles knowing that each person has his strengths. If in a small team of six persons working in one office, there are two people who have a particularly strong friendship—then this is a ‘natural force’ that may have an influence on the rest of the team, and can be manifest in various ways, either positively or negatively. Very often, when we start talking about different personality types, some cheerful human resources person will suggest the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) as a tool. The MBTI tells you how you see yourself and your preferences. Sometimes, we use Ennegram personality type instrument or Belbin Team roles.

But I need to warn that using these personality type instruments will not create a cohesive team. You will have to create the right atmosphere from a system’s perspective, have clearly set goals and link your processes to effective team work. You could also create your team values, as there are beliefs that are important to all members. Ask your teammates what is important to them and once you have a list of individual values, you can work on the team values.

 
Written by Santhosh Babu
Published in The Financial Express: Saturday, August 04, 2007.