A Leadership Intention

Written by Ed Cook

As a leader, it can be difficult to convey how you want the team to be. Not what the team does but how the team is. People know how their team feels. They know the culture and norms and habits of the team. But is the feeling, on the team, what the leader intends? For leaders to get the feeling they intend, they need to know what that feeling should be. They then need to articulate it to everyone on the team. Both of those can be difficult to do well.

Remembering

We are researching the causes of Joy at Work. To understand what that phrase means, we've been doing interviews with people to ask just that: “What does Joy at Work mean to you?” When asked, maybe 10% of the interviewees answer immediately. They smile and soon comes a rush of descriptors about Joy at Work. We've distilled those to 10 Dimensions of Joy at Work which now permeates all of our work. Unfortunately, there are another 10% who will frown and then go on to tell us they do not have Joy at Work and may not even believe that Joy at Work is possible. The larger group, making up 80% of those we interview, will smile initially, but as they struggle to describe Joy at Work they frown, frustrated that they cannot describe something they feel they should. The idea of Joy at Work is something they find meaningful. Yet, it remains elusive.  

When we switch and ask them to: 

“Think back to the best experience you’ve ever had either leading or being part of a team.“

something remarkable happens. Their face brightens and their back straightens. They physically lift themselves in concert with the emotional they seem to feel in remembering that special team. Then comes a torrent of descriptors, about why that team showed them what Joy at Work is. Their descriptors fill the room. They have stories, memories, and even funny situations. And always, an enduring feeling of the specialness of that time with that particular group.

For leaders, this is priming for a series of interview questions that help draft their Leadership Intention. The questions begin with the past and are anchored, not in critique, but in positive psychology. We've found that the path to Joy at Work cannot be found through critique. Turns out critique is not helpful. It can only be well-envisioned with a focus on the positive and a reconnection to that feeling.

Declaring

We then move to the present. We ask leaders to complete this sentence.

“I’ll know we’re truly working together toward successful outcomes when…”

They can complete it as many times as they would like. Most come up with five or six sentences. Some can reel these off in seconds. Others stumble, go back to edit, move forward, and then iterate again. Remarkably, everyone finishes with a smile. They ponder what they've stated and comment, “Yeah, that’s it.”  These statements form the first draft of their Leadership Intention.

We finish by taking them to the future, where they imagine the impact that their team could have if their Leadership Intention came true. With the questions complete, leaders sit back and immediately reflect on the past 20 minutes. This process is a magic wand that opens up a flood of powerful memories that a more direct question about how they want the culture to be can never achieve. When asked about their best team experience, people will recall all sorts of teams. Typically it is not the team they are on currently. Often it's a team from earlier in their career. Sometimes it is from their school years. In all cases, it's a powerful emotional memory. As they relate aspects of that team their energy changes. If they were having a bad day, recalling their best team experience lifts their mood. 

We then move to do the same interview with the Leader’s direct reports with one difference. Instead of asking them to complete the sentence, “I’ll know we’re truly working together toward successful outcomes when…,” we show them what the leader said. Then ask for their reaction. The responses can be a striking variety. Often there is agreement, but frequently enough there are questions. “What does she mean by that?” “I’m not clear on what that is?” “Really!?!” Or just a thoughtful smirk. All of these are valuable. They show where there is clarity and alignment as well as where work needs to be done. Always, it's the beginning of a turn. Just in doing the Leadership Intention exercise, the leader sends a signal to their team.  They're indicating a desire for the culture of the team to be a certain way. Often it's an improvement over what they have currently but sometimes it's a great culture that the leader wants to ensure lasts. No matter the situation, engaging with us to go through the Leadership Intention is a signal that culture is a focus.

Acting

The next step is for the leader and their direct reports to come together to take in all that's been said and discuss the Leadership Intention. We provide verbatims on all of the input but anonymized and scrambled. The idea is to see what's at the table, not identify who said what. Here is where the team comes together to dedicate (sometimes simply reinforce) themselves to be a change leadership team. One that's going to work to drive their culture to be the way they want it to be.

One of the first examples of this was when Roxanne took Ed through the process. You can see the actual document on our website here. At the time, that team was in the “pit of despair.” The work was late and over budget causing morale to dip very low. Although nothing changed with the difficulty of the work, the moves that the leadership team made because of the Leadership Intention created a whole new feeling on the team. It was remarkable. Morale soared, and with it, the quality of the work. The program over-delivered having adopted a “leave it better than we found it” ethos.

It's rare that a leadership team makes a big move because of the Leadership Intention. Instead, it is a series of smaller moves. 

• A question phrased slightly more gently eliciting a less fearful response
• A brief pause to recognize a teammate
• At the weekly team meeting, a quick pop-in by a senior executive to share what's on their mind

None of these are significant enough to make a difference in isolation, but, in aggregate, they ARE the culture. It's a series of subtle shifts that demonstrates the intention and signals to the team something is different. Over time, through these small acts the leadership team demonstrates their commitment to the intention. They solidify trust in themselves and each other. As the larger team notices the shift and consistency, it becomes an invitation to respond with their trust and commitment. This is the upward spiral that ultimately sparks and fuels Joy at Work.