Disagreements: From Conflict to Consensus

‘No wine before it’s time.” It is an old line from an Earnest and Julio Gallo TV commercial – but it can be applied to conflict resolution too. How so? You won’t get the best outcome by jumping right into a solution before you really understand the person and the proper path to a resolution with that specific person.

Sometimes conflict is externalized and it is easy to observe. Tempers flare; two people thundering away at each other, neither backing down from their point. Other times the conflict can go underground, and everyone believes that people are in agreement, when in fact they are far from it.

Do you know who on your team does which?

One quick way to learn is by looking at the individual’s Team Player Grid. Locate the square symbol and evaluate its position against the vertical axis. The higher on the grid the more likely the conflict is externalized, the lower the more it is internalized. You might have learned this through an iterative process over the course of time- but there may be far more subtlety present that you can see.
Consider:

• Take time to evaluate all information – both the situation and the person or persons in the situation. A too-quick decision does more harm than good when it turns out to be the wrong decision and you further alienate the individual involved.
• Further – if you use a solution path that is less than optimal – while it could work - odds are the problem will resurface. Then, not only will you have the initial problem to deal with, but also the interpersonal damage that gnawed at your team throughout the process.

The “Resolving Disagreements” report in imapMyTeam® is your personal guide to dealing with disagreements quickly and effectively so that your team stays on track. It picks up the shades or nuance of conflict rather than the dominant characteristics we find by looking at only the Team Player Grid.

You will find the “Resolving Disagreements” report is an accurate blue print as to why disagreements are difficult, why you get stuck – and best of all – suggestions for how to get unstuck.

Once you digest that information, the conflict, just like the wine is ready for its time to be resolved. Use this imapMyTeam report to move from Conflict to Consensus with speed.

The Cure for the Summertime Disengaged Blues

In the late 50’s Eddie Cochran wrote a song that many have since covered, probably most famously by The Who and Alan Jackson, titled ‘Summertime Blues’.  The song included the line ‘sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna do, cause their ain’t no cure for the summertime blues’.

Summer is sometimes the toughest time to keep people focused on their business goals and objectives.  The weather is nice, people are taking vacations, there are lots of family activities that draw our attention elsewhere, and it’s just nice to have more daylight.  Welcome to the summertime blues.

All of these great and positive aspects of summer often cause employee engagement at work to drop off.  Those summer factors just add to the already persistent engagement related issues that you read and hear about so frequently.

If we apply the old adage of ‘where there is smoke there is fire’ to this topic, there is a whole lot of smoke…so there must be a fire somewhere.  High turnover, sub-par performance, absenteeism, re-work, missed goals and objectives or even lots of grumbling and complaining are all indicators that you have a dis-engaged, under motivated team. Fortunately, imapMyTeam can help you find a ‘cure for the summertime blues’

There are two symbols on your Team Player grid that when combined produce a powerful motivational scenario. Those two symbols are the asterisk and the circle. Together they are what we refer to as the Motivation Equation.

The asterisk describes what people love to do and the circle describes what people need from their environment and others around them. Both have to do with motivation. When these two combined characteristics are united, doing what you love to do and receiving what you need, you are energized and when you are energized you will be engaged!

Pay attention to what the asterisk indicates and you'll get better at matching what people love to do with what the business needs. Understanding the circle and people’s needs allows you to customize your approach in support what is important for them to receive from you and others.

We can’t change the calendar, but we can help with the summertime blues! Save time – pass up all the engagement articles and instead apply the insights from the asterisk and circle, the Motivation Equation, for individual and team success. 

Who Moved My Team?

Most professional ‘teams’ have a training camp or off season to give the new and existing members a chance to know each other and get ready to perform as a cohesive unit.

For example:
· Major League Baseball, The National Football League, The National Basketball Association, and      the National Hockey League all have training camps
· The Military is perhaps the most critical and extreme with “Boot Camp”
· Any orchestra will practice and coach new musicians before their performance season starts.
· Broadway curtains don’t rise until the new actors and actresses get to rehearse their roles and understand who stands in for what role should someone be unable to perform

And in business we...well we don’t do any of that despite the fact that it is commonplace for people to transition on and off the team somewhat regularly.

The new teammate notwithstanding, the pressure for your team to perform well in the midst of the transition doesn’t cease. Customers and clients are not interested in any trouble you have due to changing teams. They want the service to stay the same. Your competitors would love to take advantage of your circumstances in any way they can.

When there’s movement on your team, there is no stopping the ‘season’ for practice, no rehearsal. Just dig-in, learn fast, and be productive. Wow!

One fundamental issue of new members joining an existing team is trust. Trust can and is built in a number of ways, most of which take time. Time is scarce and in our fast paced work environment people almost always react this way- “We/I don’t have time for that, I’m/we’re too busy”.

The “Trust” report in imapMyTeam® will help accelerate trust with your new team members. For any new addition to your team, make it a point to review the “Trust Requirements” report which will provide some quick insight to help you quickly gain their support and confidence.


Investing just a little bit of individual and team time to accelerate strong relationships thorough key imapMyTeam reports is a great way to welcome new team members and ensure team effectiveness. It will take some time to do that, but it will pay you back dividends later because you will really understand that new teammate better and faster.

Manager Time Management

One thing seems common to the workplace today; there is much to do and not enough time in the day to do it. Time is a precious resource in business. Time is important to you and it is just as important to your manager. So it’s essential to manage ourselves in such a way that we make the most of the time we get with our manager, especially if we have a virtual organization and time together is infrequent.

Communicating effectively is the key to maximizing your time with your manager. One definition of effective communication we like to use is: effective communication occurs when messages are clearly sent and accurately received. However, there are so many potential barriers to anticipate and navigate that can disrupt the sending/receiving process.

How do you know there is a barrier? – How do you know your message has missed the mark? One key indicator, either virtually or face to face, is you don’t get the reaction you expect!

The “Your Style with Your Manager” report from imapMyTeam will help you anticipate, navigate and manage your approach to delivering an effective message, and that might be just the difference you need to succeed in the short amount of time we have in today’s environment.

To access your customized report, go to the center pane on the www.imapMyTeam.com homepage and click on the drop down menu that says “Reports about you”. From the list of reports click on your “Style with Your Manager” report.

This report will give you some quick insight regarding “When you are at your best” with your manager and it will also give you some helpful ways to recognize when you “are not at your best”. Utilizing this report will help you develop a strategy for how you might change (manage) the way you interact with your manager next time.


Do your best to maximize the time you have with your manager; time used wisely is a precious and productive resource for both of you. 

Is Your Bench Strong Enough to Compete?

(If so congratulations; you are, however, in the minority)

One key to business success is your companies ‘bench strength.’ The following bench strength statistics caught my eye over the last few days:

·         15%: The percentage of companies that believe they have adequate mid-level bench strength to meet future business needs. That means 85% don't!  This data is from a recent global leadership evaluation and forecast.

·         22.3%: According to an article from the Wharton School of Business this percentage represents the astounding variation in revenue performance attributed to mid-level managers; while an earlier study revealed the impact of CEO’s and CFO’s explain less than 5% of the variation in firm performance among Fortune 800 companies.

In business, bench strength is critically important because organizations continuously go through turnover, restructuring, and changes in business strategy. Whenever a critical person leaves (whether in leadership, management, or line operations), the organization should have a "ready successor" or plan for a replacement in order to avoid business interruption.

So what steps should you take to build and protect your bench strength – and how does imapMyTeam® help you do that?

·        Take Care of Your Employees: Everyone talks about the importance of motivated and engaged employees — imapMyTeam® is a guide to treating your employees respectfully, building trust, coaching them to succeed.

·         Understand What You Have: You have the ability to evaluate your people individually and on a team level faster

·         Provide Strategic Opportunities:  Choose job assignments carefully

·         Relationships Matter: Embrace the link between great relationships and individual/team success; model it daily.

·         Communicate Organizational and Leadership Values: Use imapMyTeam® data to further ensure your message gets through

·         Observe the New Golden Rule: Remember treating people the way they need to be treated often works better than treating them as you need to be treated

Having adequate bench strength is an essential element to achieving sustained success. Make imapMyTeam®part of your plan to invest in the strength of your bench.