Synopsis of an article from Forbes, by Benjamin Laker, Published 6th July 2020
In this article Benjamin looks at ‘Respect Trumps Harmony’ a new book from Rachel Robertson who also published ‘Leading on the Edge’ which is an account and the learnings from her expedition to Antartica.
The key points that Rachel makes are that now is the perfect time for leaders to reset, redefine and to clarify. To re-set the cultural boundaries, to redefine the rituals and clarify team expectations. Establish what worked in our old rituals and behaviours and what should be ‘ditched’.
Three tools that any leaders can use:
- No Triangles
Practice only having direct conversations to build respect and collaboration. ‘‘We had a simple rule that went ‘I don’t speak to you about him, or you don’t speak to me about her.’ No Triangles go direct to the source”, Rachael said. - Manage Your Bacon Wars
As you return to the workplace being aware of issues that grate and have potential to cause significant discord. People are likely to become hyper sensitive, so talk about these issues and get them resolved. Going back to her trip to Antartica she described “One team thought the other team was deliberately cooking the bacon the opposite way to what they wanted, to irritate them. Yet, when I got to the bottom of it, it turned out the Bacon War was a manifestation of something profound and essential: respect between two teams. One team felt disrespected. “said Rachael. - Respect Trumps Harmony
Respect for your peers is critical to ensure the effective working between team members, without it there are risks to safety, risks to fiscal controls, potential lack of efficiency. Its not that Harmony is bad in any way but with out respect is is a significant problem
“Any team that strives for harmony, at the expense of respect because dysfunctional behavior continues; it just goes underground. “It also stifles innovation. People are often too afraid to put up their hand and offer a different view or opinion because they don’t want to rock the harmony boat. “