Business Leading Your Team
Scenario: Your company is introducing a change to an important process that will affect your team's working environment. Since the change is mandated by senior management, you are tasked with gaining buy-in from your team, but you also want to ensure that team members have an opportunity to voice concerns they may have about this change. You already know that certain team members have strong opinions about the change and will not agree with each other. You call the team together for a meeting.
Leveraging what you have learned from the course materials for this week, respond to the following prompts:
• How can you best introduce the change, knowing that there will be both resisters and supporters in the meetings?
• How will you accommodate your team's different personality types during the meeting? In your answer, refer to what you learned from the DiSC assessment you took in Week 1 of JWI 510: Leadership in the 21st Century, to identify the behavioral types with the greatest potential for conflict.
• What will you do to assure your team members that they have a voice and are free to challenge each other's input?
Sample Solution
Gaining Buy-in and Fostering Constructive Debate: Navigating a Team Meeting with Change on the Agenda
Introducing a mandatory change in a team with diverse personalities and potential for conflict requires a well-orchestrated approach to ensure buy-in while fostering a safe space for discussion. Here's how I plan to navigate the meeting:
Introducing the Change:
- Acknowledge the Context: Begin by recognizing the mandated nature of the change and expressing transparency about your role in communicating it. This helps manage expectations and avoids framing you as the source of the change.
- Focus on the "Why": Shift the focus from "what" is changing to "why" it's happening. Clearly explain the benefits and long-term vision associated with the new process. Use data and concrete examples to make the rationale tangible.
- Emphasize the "What It Means For Us": Translate the broader context to your team's specific work environment. Outline the immediate and future impacts of the new process on their daily tasks and responsibilities.
Full Answer Section
Accommodating Different Personality Types: Based on the DiSC assessment, here's how I'll adapt my approach for the potentially conflicting types:- Dominant (D): Acknowledge their direct style and value their decisive nature. Provide them with factual information and data to fuel their analytical minds. Actively solicit their perspective early on to engage their leadership potential.
- Influence (I): Appeal to their enthusiasm and interpersonal skills. Frame the change as an opportunity for creative problem-solving and collaboration. Highlight the positive impact on team dynamics and relationships.
- Steadfast (S): Address their need for stability and thoroughness. Provide detailed training materials and clear guidelines for the new process. Be patient with their questions and allow them time to process the change.
- Conscientious (C): Acknowledge their analytical nature and attention to detail. Provide them with the specific metrics and measurement strategies involved in the new process. Encourage their meticulous approach to ensure smooth implementation.
- Ground Rules: Set clear expectations for respectful communication and active listening at the start of the meeting. Emphasize the importance of diverse viewpoints and constructive debate.
- Open-Ended Questions: Encourage questions and concerns by using open-ended prompts instead of leading statements. Actively listen to understand their anxieties and challenges, not just address them.
- Acknowledge and Validate Concerns: Don't dismiss dissent, acknowledge the validity of opposing views. Show empathy for their concerns and explain how the new process addresses them if possible.
- Facilitated Discussion: If tensions rise, act as a neutral facilitator, ensuring everyone has a chance to be heard without interruptions. Offer alternative perspectives and encourage team members to find common ground.