Herding Tigers

There are five process-related conversations that can help your team maintain better focus, dispel fear, and manage expectations. In this episode, I share the five conversations and how to implement them effectively.First a few ground-rules. Do not steamroll your team with these and if you're a team member, don't barge into your manager's office demanding to have these conversations. This is about relationship and relationship is about empathy, trust and commitment. If we're going to have these conversations, we must be committed to the results, even if they're not what we wish for. We have to be willing to hear the truth and act on it even when we dislike it.One more quick ground rule. You need to be having these conversations both on a team level and an individual level with your team members. Some team members might not feel comfortable expressing themselves in a larger group, but they might have insights that can help you engage in a more healthy way if you give them space to talk. You need to formalize your conversations. In the words of management guru Peter Drucker, "what gets measured gets done." You need to have a system for these conversations and not just wait for the opportune time to occur. It never will.1. The Clarity Conversation This conversation is all about bringing alignment and combatting dissonance with our teams. It's about making sure that what we SAY we're about is what we're actually about. It's about making sure that we understand the objectives of our projects, our teams and our organization's reason for being.– Do what/why add up? In other words, is what we SAY we're about what we're actually doing? One way to ask this question is "is there anything we're doing right now that seems out of character for us?" Step back and allow the conversation to ensue. Don't get defensive and don't feel the need to argue. This is not about being right, it's about discerning and identifying problems within the team.- Do you understand the objectives? Are they clear? Is there anything you're unclear about? Sometimes people won't speak up because they assume that everyone else gets it and they're the only idiot. This kind of isolation is a lie and it countermands creative effectiveness. The more we discuss the objectives until everyone is crystal clear, the better off we'll be.Clarity is critical to healthy team creating. The more clear we are about the problems we're trying to solve, the more effective we will be in that creating. But the less clear we are about aligning the why and the what, the more our process will dissolve into chaos.2. The Expectations Conversation This very simple conversation is designed to neutralize the victim mindset. By calling out and allowing conversations about expectations we can be certain that we're not allowing confusion to grow, which can lead to finger-pointing and self-protection rather than generosity and trust.– Do you know what’s expected of you? Get the artist to express their understanding of expectations directly and simply.– What do you expect from me and am I falling short? Again, don't be defensive and try to defend yourself. If the stated expectations are unrealistic, have that conversation, but it's important that you realize that your role is to serve, not to be right.3. The Fear Conversation This is the most nebulous of the conversations and is one of the more difficult to get people to open up to, but it can be one of the most powerful if we have the guts to engage in it. This is all about shining light into dark, unspoken places and neutralizing emerging fear.– What are you afraid might happen and why? In other words, what makes you "gun shy" in your creating?– Do you feel free to take risks? If so, why? What environmental cues are leading you to that?4. The Engagement Conversation This conversation is all about identifying patterns of engagement/energy/enthusiasm on the team. Creativity is rhythmic, both on an individual and team level and we have to take that into account as we're planning our work. This conversation helps you - as the leader of process - to gauge where the team is in terms of energy and engagement and plan accordingly. It also helps the team - in a collective sense - to gain a better understanding of where each member is in terms of inspiration and energy level.– What’s your energy level/enthusiasm?– What’s inspiring you?– How do you feel about the work you’re doing?– What’s the best thing we’re doing and why?5. The “Final 10%” Conversation This conversation is all about neutralizing - as my friend Ben likes to call them - "whispers in the hallway." These are the conversations that emerge when a small group of people want to commiserate but they don't have the guts to speak their thoughts to the organization either because they're spineless or because there isn't a culture of trust. Either way, you are WAY better off having these conversations in a team context and one-on-one than allowing them to fester and create dissonance and fear. So what you're going to do in this conversation is ask them to tell you the "final remnant" of feedback that they're not going to volunteer unless you ask for it.- What’s the dumbest thing I/we are doing right now?– What’s the smartest thing I/we are doing right now?– What something obvious that you don’t think I’m seeing?

There are ghosts haunting the halls of your organization. They are invisible assumptions, false and limiting narratives, and other types of "rules" that limit the kinds of ideas your team members will introduce, who will collaborate with whom, and how your team functions.In this episode, we discuss the nature of ghost rules and how to exorcise them for good.

There is a big difference between telling the actual truth and telling people what you wish was the truth. Some leaders think that to inspire their team they must always have a positive vision, so they translate that belief to “I must ensure that team members feel like everything is going great.”However, this is not driven by a desire to do what’s in the best interest of the team, but by the neediness of the leader. They don’t want to deal with the discomfort of wading through the murky grey waters of uncertainty. It’s much easier to deal in black and white, so they paint the situation as much more simple and positive it really is. The dissonance team members feel between words and reality causes a major breach in trust. (By the way, your team is smart.)Have you ever met that person who always puts a positive spin on everything? The world could be falling apart, cats and dogs living together in harmony, and fire and brimstone falling from the clouds, but somehow they still muster a smile and say it’s going to be OK? You’ll hear many gurus and leadership experts touting the importance of optimism and the strategic value of always keeping a positive mindset. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this advice, except that it’s taken to an irresponsible extreme. When your optimism is decoupled from reality, you risk losing the trust of your team and your perspective on what needs to be done.That person who always puts a positive spin on things? You probably don’t trust them. Not fully, anyway. They might be fun to hang out with, and they might be able to turn around a bad night out, but it’s doubtful that you’d go to them first when you need serious advice about an important decision. You simply can’t trust that they’ll give you a realistic viewpoint. They are too clouded by their unrealistic “future’s so bright I gotta wear shades” mentality.If you aren’t realistic with your team, then you risk losing their trust. They’ll listen to you, but they won’t believe you. As legendary leadership expert Warren Bennis said, “Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.” If your team suspects that you’re putting a glossy overtone on everything, they’ll soon stop paying attention and will seek out a truth teller. Your organization will become dysfunctional.Yes, informed optimism is the fuel of change, but naive optimism is deadly. Wishing and hoping is never a solution to actual problems. If you want to effect change, you need to pair your optimism with realism and skill.The same principles apply to your team.Don't fall for the temptation to put a glossy coat on everything. Your team will trust you more, and will follow you into the uncertainty, when they believe that you're telling them the truth.

One of the more concerning dynamics of the “everything is on the record all the time” world is that changing your mind – especially in a highly public way – has become SIN NUMBER ONE. If a politician or business leader evolves in their understanding of a topic, we call them a flip flopper. If someone alters their once-fierce perspective in light of newfound information, we call them a hypocrite or a traitor. However, one of the most crucial roles of the leader is to be a learner, and it is impossible to learn without being shaped and changed in some way. To be shaped, you have to open yourself to the idea that you don’t know everything, and that your present ideas could be incorrect, or at least incomplete.On this episode, we discuss why it's important to change your mind (sometimes) and how to do it effectively.

If you have talented, driven, creative people on your team, conflict is inevitable. Conflict isn't bad, it's just a by-product of the creative process. However, how you handle conflict will determine the health or dysfunction of the team. On this episode, we share three core principles from Herding Tigers about dealing with conflict in a healthy way.

After a failed project, many teams simply move forward to the next one, without a postmortem. This is a huge mistake. It’s important as a leader that you seize those failures and mistakes and turn them into growth moments for your team. Otherwise, people are likely to commit the same mistakes again. Some of the biggest coaching opportunities you’ll have are in the moments when an individual or your team has failed, and you have to seize them.

As a leader of a creative organization, your job may be to tell your client’s story through the work of your team. Your team is in the business of positively shaping the perception a market has towards what your client is selling. If effective storytelling is so much a part of selling your client’s image to the market then why shouldn’t it be an important tool in selling your leadership to your team? On today's episode, we share a few ways to excavate and use those stories to build trust with your t

Here is a core truth of leadership: if you are not inspired, you cannot inspire. Take time each week to inspire yourself and to connect with the deeper stream of your motivation. On this episode, we share three simple ways to stay inspired so that you can earn your team's trust and respect. Remember that great leaders have great rituals.Learn more about Herding Tigers.

Your team needs to know that it will have the time and attention necessary to do the work. However, organizations are often their own worst enemy, and it can be difficult to protect your team from the onslaught of demands and pressure that can get in the way of brilliance. On this episode, Todd Henry and riCardo Crespo discuss some specific and practical strategies for protecting your team's time and attention. Today's episode is brought to you by the book Herding Tigers: Be The Leader That Creative People Need.

Leading a creative team can feel like trying to build a bicycle while riding it. What worked last time might not work next time, so it feels like you're always trying to figure things out as you go. On top of managing personalities and the complexity of the work itself, there are also a few unique challenges that creative work present: opacity, insecurity, and subjectivity. On this episode, we dissect each of these three challenges and offer some practical tips for overcoming them.

How do great leaders unleash their team to do its best and most creative work? Join Todd Henry, riCardo Crespo, and guests as they discuss what the creative people on your team need from you, and how you can help to be prolific, brilliant, and healthy.