Upsize Online

December 2013 • January 2014

Upsize is a magazine with a single mission: to help Minnesota's small-business owners build bigger and more profitable companies, and to connect CEOs with the people, products and ideas they need to grow.

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bb management by Barb Krantz Taylor How to bust these five nasty habits of executive teams Few leaders are nasty by nature, but the communications and decisionmaking process of complex organizations can bring out unpleasant habits and biases among leaders and their teams. These leadership habits fuel unproductive second-guessing and quiet resentments that slow down performance and erode profits. By discovering any of these top five nasty habits among executive teams and replacing them with honest collaboration and communication, leaders will enhance decision-making, conflict resolution, teamwork, implementation and organization-wide performance. tive feedback and decision-making. This requires a culture change as much as a change in mindset among leaders. When that doesn't happen fully, it's like taking down the buoys in a pool and expecting people to switch lanes, but they don't. For example, the CFO might comment on a human resources initiative, which the HR director has solicited and appreciates, but then unconsciously dismisses as irrelevant. The marketing director also believes the initiative impacts branding, and HR receives the input positively but continues to advance the initiative with little change. The input doesn't translate to alignment and collaboration, and HR's regular updates only fuel resentment and confusion. If the initiative falters, HR is No. 1: Faux collaboration One of the biggest nasty habits of mod- left holding the bag. Until leaders truly honor input and ern organizations stems from breaking comment — and provide enough time down silos and encouraging collabora- tips 10 1  Leaders whose personalities tend toward having the last word should practice stepping back and allowing others to lead the strategy. 2  team may The still look to this leader for direction or confirmation, at which point the leader can provide feedback that supports an organization-wide vision as opposed upsize december 2013 • january 2014 in the process to translate that input into agreement on direction and strategy — collaboration will remain just a nice idea. Silos will continue to impede growth. No. 2: Decisions by force Traditionally leaders have been promoted and praised for taking a stand and breaking ties on difficult decisions. This can still be an effective leadership quality and is often a natural fallback when a situation is tense and time is short. However, there is a downside to this leadership style that becomes a nasty habit. The best leaders know when to hold the line and when to concede to another leader's expertise. They are comfortable not always being the smartest person in the room, and move seamlessly between will and humility appropriate to each situation. The alternative is to always lead to opinions on the details of planning or implementation. 3  shift will This increase efficiency as well as innovation. www.upsizemag.com

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