Category: Bi-weekly Team Insights

Decision paralysis in executive teams occurs when the decision-making process slows or stalls due to obstacles. The inefficiency of decision paralysis often goes unnoticed because it develops gradually, and its impact is subtle. Cultural team norms, like centralized decision-making or an overemphasis on consensus, can reinforce or unintentionally perpetuate decision paralysis. These cultural norms may…

It’s a familiar scenario. In an executive meeting, the team gathers to discuss the status of the business and provide functional updates in each leaders’ respective areas. Mary: “The next point on our agenda is to discuss how we will close the gap in our revenue for the last quarter of the year.  I believe…

A few years ago, I worked with a finance leadership team that aimed to enhance their willingness, openness, and comfort level by giving and receiving transparent and constructive feedback. The CFO recognized a gap in the team’s ability to appreciate the value of constructive feedback and learn from one another. He had unsuccessfully attempted to…

Competency Trust is one of the four types of trust in teams we introduced in our introductory article on team trust (see Trust, the Foundation of Enduring Peak Performing Teams). At a basic level, Competency Trust refers to the absolute belief that each team member has the competencies, experience, skills and knowledge to achieve the team’s…

Before returning home after being away on business, your five-year-old son or daughter asks you for a gift that can only be found in the city from which you are returning. You make a promise to bring home something special. Wouldn’t you do anything possible to keep that promise?  If it required you to run…

Imagine a work environment where your team is forthcoming with information. Team members don’t hold back what they are thinking and, in some cases, may even overcommunicate. Colleagues express their opinions candidly, whether positive or negative, and even feel comfortable doing so. Meetings are engaging and at the end, nobody feels as if thoughts remain…

In our introductory article on team trust, we discussed four types of trust within teams. The first type we delve into in more detail is “Intention Trust.” We start with Intention Trust. While it is not necessarily the most important kind of trust, it is generally the most thought about when someone says, “we trust…