Why I Fired My Entire Team
It was one of those meetings. Every time I brought up an issue or an idea, all I got was blank stares or nodding heads. Every time I tried to illicit feedback from my team, I felt as if I were pulling teeth. All I heard was crickets.
When I finally had enough, I looked at my high performing team and said, “You’re all fired!” There was a nervous laugh until they saw my face. I had a stone cold look I learned when I was in the Army. The laughing stopped.
Speak Up! Please!
“If all of us are thinking alike, then only one of us is needed! Why should I keep paying your salaries if all my ideas are that good?”
I let the last question sit. The silence was uncomfortable. But, I got my point across. I wanted to be challenged.
A Leader Needs His Ideas Challenged
“I know my ideas are not that good. If you are not willing to challenge my ideas, then there is no way we are coming up with the best ideas or strategies that we can.”
Patrick Lencioni in his book The Five Dysfunctions of A Team, says that one of the leader’s jobs is to mine for conflict. In other words, if conflict does not appear on the surface, the leader must dig for it.
There is an old saying that says “All of us are smarter than one of us.” That is true on every team. The leader must be wise enough to realize she does not always have the best answers and be determined to get under the surface and find out what others think.
I led too many meetings that went “my way”. I walked out patting myself on the back thinking how smoothly the meeting went. Now in hindsight, I realize a smooth meeting is not necessarily a good meeting.
The Rest Of My Meeting
That day, I realized it was my responsibility to dig. I had to mine for conflict. I went from person to person asking:
- Really, you agree with everything I said so far today?
- You believe all my ideas are good ones and you are going to execute them in EXACTLY the way I discussed?
- You have no concerns, warning signs or alternative ideas?
The first response began with, “Well…..”
That is when I knew the floodgates were about to open. I knew we were about to get into some really good problem solving and strategy development.
The enthusiasm in the room grew. There was spirited debate and people even argued with me. Their individual ideas evolved into our team goals.
Because they felt heard the level of buy-in grew. Not only did the team come up with strategies that were better than mine, but we executed them better for the same reason – the strategies were theirs and not mine.
The Bottom Line:
That was a great team who was having a bad day. Maybe they needed more sleep or more caffeine. But, it is more likely that I had not given them enough opportunities in the past to challenge my ideas and to share their own.
Many of us train our people to stay quiet when they should speak up. We may not do it intentionally. But, whenever we miss the chance to mine for conflict and dig under the surface, we reinforce the silence. We create the environment where the boss is always right.
General George S. Patton said:
If everyone is thinking alike then no one is thinking.
Patton was right when it came to my meeting. Yes, my people were not thinking, but neither was I. As a leader, I needed to realize that their silence was not REAL agreement or buy in.
I needed to go beneath the surface and get them to challenge my ideas. When a leader’s ideas are challenged better solutions are the result.
Question:
What prevents leaders from mining for conflict? Fear? Pride? Something else?
To answer your question, I have discovered over the course of my career that a lot of “leaders” (Quotation marks for a reason) would much rather surround themselves with “yes” people. I have noticed this behavior is especially strong when the “leader” is also founder of a company, and they take personal affront to what they perceive to be a huge threat to their control.
I had not thought of the prevalence with founders of companies but I do see the trend. Great point.
One reason may be that the dynamic qualities of a leader just don’t always leave that door open for challenge. An example is just the scenario you describe. You obviously want to be challenged but the people in that meeting didn’t feel comfortable to challenge at least that particular idea. There is only one leader of the group and the head wags the tail. Fostering an atmosphere of open and challenging ideas takes some effort – from the leader him or herself. I guess I question why you just didn’t say, “OK, let’s hear some alternatives to this idea that will improve on and even challenge what’s on the table,” instead of “OK everyone, challenge me or be fired.” My guess is that the environment in your meetings didn’t really accept challenges or that you assumed that it did – and we all know what it means to assume. Maybe the problem was not their lack of sleep but your assumptions that you had that rapport. My other guess is that most leaders who say they want to be challenged suffer from the same.
Yes. In a short blog I did not include all the dialogue and attempts leading up to my comment that was meant to make a point – only. It is definitely the leader’s responsibility to get people to open up. That was my point. I set the atmosphere in that meeting or in a previous one.
It takes work to keep people from falling into a hierarchal mindset. We had done better at other meetings and we did better a future meetings. The bottom line is better decisions are likely when there is healthy conflict around them.
Hi Dave,
I like the idea behind your message. I am curious as to the use of the word “conflict”. That particular word draws a negative feel and even though you stated there was some arguing, which would imply a negative tone, the idea of conflict can scare some people. Could you leave out the word “conflict” and still showcase your message?
Jennifer Tucker
Lincoln Nebraska
Dave,
If conflict is the word for you that best describes what you’re trying to say then don’t change it. Drucker calls the concept a “healthy atmosphere for dissent” which I like, but that’s me. When presenting, nothing apart from non-listeners gives me the irrits more then when you ask for feedback and people give you blank stares. Really? I’m that good? Awesome!
Cheers mate
I still challange the use of “conflict”. The whole idea is to create an environment for which new ideas are born. Even Peter Drucker “took it upon himself to poke holes in executives beliefs, lest organizations become stale. But he did so in a sympathetic way.” He focused on bringing out the best in people. Conflict will bring out many things, and quite possibly will eventually bring out the best in a person, I just feel the same could be done without a conflictual environment. Just food for thought and my view.
In my talks I often discuss why people don’t like the word conflict. I then suggest using the term “Courageous Communication.” It takes courage to speak up and initiate positive conflict with someone.
Can you share more with me about your “talks” regarding conflict vs “Courageous Communication”?
I would be very interested to know more!
A popular topic is conflict resolution. I usually start with what causes communication breakdowns and then move into how to initiate courageous communications.
Many people are fearful of bringing bad news to the boss. I recommend three steps in preparation for those meetings:
1. Prepare Your Why: What is my motive? I must share that motive with the other person. Don’t make them guess because our human nature rarely guesses someone else’s motives are to help me or improve the team.
2. Prepare Solutions: Don’t just identify a problem and leave it for the boss to solve. Bring solutions to the discussion. The world is full of problem finders. We need more problem solvers.
3. Prepare for Blowback: Bad news can sting. Even if you do the first two steps, people still may have a negative reaction. Prepare for possible objections and stay strong in the face of blowback. That’s why it is called Courageous Communications!