It’s easy to get consumed by the workplace drama of the moment.
A teammate is upset because a colleague hasn’t yet responded to an email request.
A supervisor is frustrated because expectations weren’t met during a meeting.
A vice president is irritated because team members consistently arrive late for work.
A common response in these types of situations is to address the specific frustration, concern, or irritation with those who are involved. In many instances, interpersonal communication deficiencies, defensiveness, and “whataboutism,” can cause these interactions to make matters worse.
Another approach is to widen the aperture of our leadership lens to focus on the values that are in tension with the questionable behaviors.
Values such as:
- Timeliness and accuracy of information
- Grace
- Clarity in communications
- Punctuality
- Creativity
- Integrity
- Humor
While our Advancement mission speaks to what we actually do in our work together, our values should provide guidance on how we work and engage with one another.
Establishing agreed upon team values and regularly reminding our colleagues of them (or far better – establishing times when team members remind themselves), is a leadership strategy that keeps unproductive and frustrating interpersonal behaviors at bay.
We can accept a culture accented by the urgent, dramatic tension of the day that captures our attention, disrupts our work, and frustrates teammates.
Or, we can build a culture by spending time identifying and sharing examples of the values we agree to embrace.
The choice is up to each leader.
