The Risk Transition - Every Team is at Risk

Every team has rules, procedures, and constraints that its members must deal with. How they deal with them is the key to the risk transition.

Some team members are going to operate by the book. They naturally follow established rules and procedures in their business and personal lives. Following rules and procedures is a way of assessing and eliminating risks. They are usually critical thinkers who test the ideas of others and often ask for more information before agreeing to them. They set high standards for themselves and have a strong desire for the team to live up to the same standards.

If you want to influence the conservative person, make sure you have proof to back up what you say. They are not swayed by emotion or lots of words; rather they want facts and figures to verify what they are told. When questioning others, they are good at asking the right questions and getting to the heart of an issue.

Other team members will consistently challenge the status quo. Independent people are the “out of the box” thinkers and may even be seen as pioneering. They are much more independent and willing to break the rules (not laws and especially not God’s laws but rules and procedures put in place by others), which they may see as standing in the way of the team reaching its goals. They tend to make quick decisions, not waiting to gather all the facts before they do. Fear of making a mistake is not on their minds; they will deal with trouble if, and when, it arises. They are naturally willing to take risks.

When team members view these independent style people as reckless or haphazard, conflict is likely. Independent thinkers are confident they will find a way to reach the team’s goals, but they are often indifferent to the means to achieve the desired ends. This overconfidence can engender conflict on the team, especially when the independent thinker turns out to be wrong.

The personal dynamics between these two styles can have a tremendous impact on the decision-making of the team.

Too much emphasis on following rules and procedures or analyzing every last detail can paralyze a team. Knowing the different strengths of each team member, in regards to their bent to follow “standard procedures” or go around them, is yet another key to understanding predictable conflict within a team. It can also help a team prevent team paralysis or conflict in the first place and enable each of the team members to lead from their strengths.

Being willing to break the rules isn’t always wrong. However, a critical mistake is not valuing the strengths of team members who are intent on following fixed procedures to protect the integrity of the process.

Unrelenting application of rules and procedures can lead to a controlling spirit on the team that demoralizes independent thinkers. Likewise, consistently ignoring established rules and procedures can lead to a feeling of chaos and confusion that debilitates more critical thinkers. It might take time to achieve the right balance for your team, but the benefits your team will reap are worth the effort.

Action Step:

Answer the following questions about yourself and your team:

How do you approach established rules and procedures?

How do others on your team react to established rules and procedures?

What are the strengths and limitations on your team as it relates to rules and procedures?

What can you and your team do to capitalize on these different strengths to make the team more effective?

Trent, John, Ph.D., Rodney Cox and Eric Tooker, Leading From Your Strengths, Nashville, TN, Broadman & Holman, 2003.