We’re good now, right…

“We’re good now, right,” isn’t the best way to finish a tough topic with your team. This, however, is the norm. Most leaders “just kind of move on,” as my client described his own habit before I lit him up. He kinda looked at me like I was crazy. I am.

Not as crazy as most humans, however, who simply believe tough topics somehow disappear if you don’t deal with them. Tough topics do NOT go away on their own. Looking away doesn’t make ’em go away. When a leader develops this habit, here is an unintended consequence. Do not miss this. This could be HUGE. When the leaders of a system don’t talk about the tough topics, the system does. The associates fill in the blanks. Gossip and back channels are flooded with their uneducated and uninformed opinions.

Systems fill the void, so to speak. This slows the system down.

BTL leaders understand this. BTL leaders talk about why and own it. They communicate the good, the bad, and fill in the blanks. They actually bring up the tough topics before the team does. This builds trust. This speeds us along. This sustains performance. This takes time. Few find the time. Funny, huh…

“We’re good now and we just kinda move on,” are warning signals of a system that is brushing conflict under the rug instead of mining for it and digging it up as a habit. Deep trust is built when we talk about the tough topics ccd with the ones that need to hear it. Deep trust speeds us up but we gotta slow down to build it. Today, a couple productive rebels learned how to own their piece in making this system better. These two told each other some tough truth about specific behaviors that are out of alignment with them becoming ONE. Today, they got stronger by NOT moving on. Slow down and reflect.

How does your system deal with tough topics? How do you deal with tough topics? How much time do you invest in back channel communication and using the grapevine to move your positions along? How ccd are your communications. How truthful? How are you fighting triple d and developing the habit of tuning in, instead? How do you know? Tell me more, my friend. Tell me more.

No bigee if you don’t have the time. We’re good now, right?