I asked Dr. Reldan”Relly” Nadler, a leading psychologist and Executive Coach a question about teamwork and when there is not a clear cut leader within the team. Dr. Relly, focuses on developing and providing cutting edge Emotional Intelligence tools, and strategies for CEO’s, Executives, leaders, managers and their organizations and teams. His book, Leading with Emotional Intelligence, is a cumulation of that work.
Related Podcast and Transcription: Emotional Intelligence Tools
An Excerpt from the podcast:
Joe: When we talk about the EQ and the book process, we talk about it as an individual in the leadership. But, as I mentioned before the podcast, is that we get so much involved in team and teamwork now, and so flat of an organization, that some people don’t have, let’s say, the power of what a leader does. It’s a team; it’s a pretty flat organization. You have to get people to work together. Does EQ, does that effect, and does your book talk about teamwork and the collaboration that takes place on, let’s say, equal footing?
Relly: So, there is a section on teamwork and collaboration, so that’s one of the six areas, and this actually has the most strategies. There are about 23 strategies that someone could use. I kind of play off this idea of what’s natural and unnatural, I think teamwork is an unnatural act. You know, what’s natural, is to do it on your own. And so, there’s a series of key things that allude to what you’re saying.
So, for example, one may be a shared vision. Just like you’re saying, here you get all these people together, and what the average performer may hold a blurry vision, “Not sure why I’m on this team, what’s going on?” The star performer helps create a real clear and inspiring vision for this project. They communicate regularly, and they took actions, that go on.
Let’s say another one would be communication skills and conflict resolution. Well, the average performer, “Who wants conflict?” We avoid it, we jump to conclusions, we made out really, communicate effectively about this team project and why, and the roles, and responsibilities.
But the star performer and I usually define the star performer as someone in the top 10%. That’s where a lot of this research is saying, just like you would, with best practices. You know, so whether it’s manufacturing or some other process improvement, what are the best practices? Well, that’s exactly where this is going, what these leadership competencies, what are the things that individuals in the top 10% do?
So, someone who’s a star, top 10% performer in communication, what they do, is they really, identify assumptions, they really acknowledge that, well, we have a conflict here, let’s get through it, where, typically, people would avoid it. And they are really able to treat their team, seeing their team, chess players versus checker players. And this gets into one of those competencies. Do you really know your people?
So now you have this team. Who is the person on your team that you’re going to go to get the project going and get fired up? Who is the person on your team that’s the closer? You got some deadlines, and who’s the person you know as your closer?
Who is the person on your team, when you have to do some cross-functional things with someone from another team, who is your kind of person that’s good in relationships, and can be the glue, and can maybe bridge the gap of what could be conflict?
Those are three separate players on the team: The closer, the starter, the person going across departments. Does the leader know who those are, and then deploy them appropriately?
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