Working with leadership teams can be difficult. For mainly 2 reasons.
One, they often come with a "been there done that" attitude. I say often because it is not so prevalent. And also because it is the lesser of the evils. And it is a solvable problem for a facilitator because they see themselves as experts in their domains not yours. They get to this stage if anything you bring (rather, much of what you bring) comes without any new perspective or insight. So if you see the audience get bored, distracted - most likely this is cause number 2. (How do I know? Because I have encountered facilitators who often come back with complaints about the attitude - and most likely this is one issue).
The second issue is how much is the leader involved? invested? If the program/initiative is supported by the leader and endorsed, it is a win. But it is an even greater win if the leader is invested in it - and a part of it as well - actively participating, being a part of it without being distracted and so on and so forth. What I have seen is that - this is the bigger issue. If this is issue is sorted, it always works well. I have seen leaders who are not invested or expect someone to do the job while they themselves are in a disconnected world by themselves - and such initiatives fail massively.
(Note, you still have to do your work as a facilitator, because if this leader disconnects, you can say goodbye to progress).
Few weeks ago, I got to work with a leadership that was a joy to work with. Their leader was on time, an active participant and set the example. And the leadership team - in ages ranging from 35 to 60 - was all attention - asking questions, engaged and ready to jump in.
Not surprisingly, they are a high performing team with a great name in the industry. As a facilitator colleague told me once - What is inside is reflected on the outside. A great team that works well together results in great performance outside.
One, they often come with a "been there done that" attitude. I say often because it is not so prevalent. And also because it is the lesser of the evils. And it is a solvable problem for a facilitator because they see themselves as experts in their domains not yours. They get to this stage if anything you bring (rather, much of what you bring) comes without any new perspective or insight. So if you see the audience get bored, distracted - most likely this is cause number 2. (How do I know? Because I have encountered facilitators who often come back with complaints about the attitude - and most likely this is one issue).
The second issue is how much is the leader involved? invested? If the program/initiative is supported by the leader and endorsed, it is a win. But it is an even greater win if the leader is invested in it - and a part of it as well - actively participating, being a part of it without being distracted and so on and so forth. What I have seen is that - this is the bigger issue. If this is issue is sorted, it always works well. I have seen leaders who are not invested or expect someone to do the job while they themselves are in a disconnected world by themselves - and such initiatives fail massively.
(Note, you still have to do your work as a facilitator, because if this leader disconnects, you can say goodbye to progress).
Few weeks ago, I got to work with a leadership that was a joy to work with. Their leader was on time, an active participant and set the example. And the leadership team - in ages ranging from 35 to 60 - was all attention - asking questions, engaged and ready to jump in.
Not surprisingly, they are a high performing team with a great name in the industry. As a facilitator colleague told me once - What is inside is reflected on the outside. A great team that works well together results in great performance outside.
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