The Art of People: Facilitation, Leadership and Team Dynamics

 illustration from www.justontarte.com

In one word, describe for me an exceptional leader.

Perhaps words that come to mind could be courageous, humble, accountable, selfless or perhaps even moral and ambitious.

Are any of these wrong? Of course not. We would like our leaders to display all of these qualities and probably more... ideally.

Now, in one word describe a great facilitator.

Perhaps words that come to mind include observant, listener, and neutral, persuasive as well as courageous and humble. You might also include proactive in that list.

In today’s world of teams and team dynamics, which require cross-cultural, cross generational and gender neutral atmospheres, requiring these teams to work together in a way they have never before experienced can create an often contentious and uncomfortable atmosphere which could have a huge impact on both team and corporate culture!

The need for skilled leadership on these teams has become obvious. What has not been obvious is where we find the folks with the right mindset, disposition and all of those qualities we listed above in order to give our teams and organizations the chance they need to be successful.

One thing is certain; it’s not for lack of volunteers.

Plenty have stepped forward to say, “I want to be a leader.” In an Agile world, some have gone so far as to embrace the mindset that Scrum Master = Team Lead = Management. In other words, “My team will do what I say if they think I’m the one in charge.” This mindset reflects someone who is focused on the role they have, not the goal we are all trying to achieve; this goal not the role focus is one I’ve heard championed by Ellen Gottesdiener of EGB Consulting on many occasions.

In other cases, we may be simply slapping the first hand in the air with a team of their own and a two day certification. We then ask them to expertly display all of those qualities we are looking for atop this article. And by the way, no one reports to you on that team. You simply have to get all of these folks to perform at a high level in a methodology they have never used before and communicate in a way they’re not used to. Easy...

Did I mention this will also reflect in your annual performance review?

I recently ran a workshop for one of the larger national IT recruiters for a group of their clients on the topic “This Doesn’t Feel Agile”. The concept is one of coming together to discuss common issues seen in Agile adoption and walking away with practical ideas for helping to ease that adoption and realize the benefits. I introduce the group to a commonly seen set of problems such as culture, executive acceptance, team acceptance, training, resources, etc. What’s interesting is that culture and training often get to the front of the list quickly.

In discussing these two topics, the ones leading the teams are held in highest accountability. They are evangelists within the company for Agile practices, they are trainers themselves, they help mold the culture and assist in identifying areas of need for the teams and individuals.

So this begs the question, why do we not take more time to ensure we have the right people with the right skills in this role as opposed to assigning it just to say we have that person there?

What could be the result of having the wrong person in that role?

First off, it should never, EVER be a staff manager!

Why? Aren’t they leaders anyway? Not necessarily. It’s true they are people managers, but they may not be true leaders. Additionally, can anyone argue with how placing a staff manager within a team as a Scrum Master or Team Facilitator would skew the overall team dynamics at just about every level?

Let’s say you have someone volunteering for the role. What could the ramifications be of having the wrong person?

·         Poor team dynamics, infighting

·         Lack of productivity

·         Culture of finger pointing and ‘Teflon accountability’

·         Lack of trust

·         Zero communication

But, what if you find the diamond in the rough? What if you get that person that just...well...gets it?

Consider yourself a lottery winner! Some of the outstanding traits we would like to see in our leaders can be taught. Conversely, I have encountered some of the most honestly motivated command and control personalities, who wanted desperately to learn better servant leadership qualities, simply fall back to habits that were too engrained in their day to day personality to truly help their teams. Some to the point where the teams were literally begging to have the person replaced due to their sheer ‘bull in a china shop’ nature.

Good for them for recognizing the need for change but unfortunately some people just aren’t wired that way.

In an Agile Team Facilitation and Team Leadership workshop I held recently, I had a young ‘millennial’ college student attending as an active participant and listener. Not long afterwards she sent me this visual representation of her experience: 

Michelle here outlines 9 aspects of great leadership and facilitation she took away and aspires to apply.

Her long term aspirations include event planning and project management. I’d say she’s on the right course. She’s also seeking to enhance the skillsets she recognizes early on that will make her better long term for her teams, organizational culture and one day her own personal clientele.

A diamond in the rough?

There are a few companies out there who take great pride in grooming their leadership and placing the right people in the right places with the tools they need to be successful. How do you know if it’s working? You can see their culture in everything they do. You can probably list a handful of them off the top of your head.

What is your organizational culture? Do you have a leadership strategy? Are your leader’s facilitators or do they simply manage people?

The long term outcome could be the difference between organizational success and failure.