Encyclopedia of Leadership

The need to deal with unresolved Iand Weissues is why people invest in informal and rela-

tionship time, like coffee discussions before morning meetings begin. This informal time gives

space to vent and let go of a few Idisturbances—heavy traffic, a fight with the kids, complaints

about too many meetings. It’s also a time for reconnecting with folks they haven’t seen for

awhile, meeting new members of the group, and so on.

THE IT

The ultimate purpose of a workgroup is to produce superior results in an efficient way. But

superior and efficient performance cannot be accomplished without dealing with the Iand the

We. This is why opening rituals are so useful in workgroup and team meetings—introductions;

reviewing the agenda; estimating meeting time; clarifying desired outcomes; reviewing roles

for the meeting chairperson, timekeeper, scribe, and so on. Opening rituals help clarify some

of the Weissues and prevent these issues from becoming disturbances. It’s also advisable to

clarify the It, the group’s task and goals (the reason the group came together in the first place).

Unleash the power of workgroups and teams by taking care of disturbances during meet-

ing start-ups. Meetings with hurried starts—“Never mind the chitchat, let’s get to work”—often

get bogged down quickly. Disturbances take precedence if time is not allowed for clearing away

Iand Weissues. This then draws individuals’ and the group’s attention away from the task at

hand, the It. Always remember, at the beginning of a meeting or workgroup activity, to a) make

time so that I disturbances can be aired and cleared away, b) review group or Weissues, and c)

clarify task or Itoutcomes. Doing so gives everyone in the group an opportunity to help ensure

that their efforts produce superior results for the company.

HOW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL

“Certain concerns almost always exist among the people entering a potential team situation. ... ‘What

are the real agendas here?’ ‘What is this going to mean for me?’ ... ‘How long is this going to last?’”

—Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith, THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

As a leader, you need a number of group models and tools. This diagnostic tool will help you

anticipate and manage workgroups and teams. It’s a simple approach for anticipating, notic-

ing, and signaling problems: “I think we need to deal with some Weissues now, before we

move on,” or “I think we have spent enough time on I, and need to start working on It, the

task.”

312 SECTION 10 TOOLS FORLEADINGTEAMS ANDGROUPS

Balance

required

I

WE IT