I have been doing some coaching work with cross-functional teams in mature organizations and one topic that comes up over and over again is this: when a team finds some process or data that indicates something is clearly not delivering the desired outcome, how do they speak the truth to Senior Leadership?
Many of you may be asking, “why is this even a question?” After all, in high-functioning firms with great adaptability, vertical communication is as natural as breathing. When things need to be addressed, they are simply surfaced and dealt with.
However, as firms mature, things change…and they begin to form strong internal tribes which subtly begin to gain more allegiance than the firm’s clients – or in many cases – the go-to market teams that are bringing the “ask.” When this happens, you start to hear things like this: “no, that’s just not good for the way we have the engineering resources assigned right now” or “that just won’t work in our factory.” This typically happens if the voice of the customer weakened as the firm grew. In time, everyone is working toward their last known picture of the customer, which is commonly dated to when they started with the firm.
In many cases the “ask” just gets put into a holding pattern and never sees the light of day. A firm “no” is almost never issued (at least not just yet) and the valuable insight is lost for a time. That is, of course, until the day a competitor suddenly appears with the right product, and the senior team wants to know how the firm missed it. The usual excuses emerge, and the storm blows over.
To avoid the above situation, a much better approach is this: be wary of “conflict debt,” which occurs when we let the hard discussions we need to have pile up – like overdue credit card bills. Some firms never clear the backlog, and then pay the price. This usually comes in the form of passive aggressive internal squabbles (with their customers and clients not receiving the full attention they deserve).
It’s easy for someone from the outside to spot this issue. It shows up in meetings as “areas we don’t go,” or body language that screams there is more to say – but goes unsaid. In later stages, there is a prickly demeanor to relationships that stops authentic dialogue in its tracks.
The end stage of this can be a precipitous tumble in the market. Think about cable TV and who thought they had a “lock” on the triple play (phone, internet and TV). Once the cord cutting started, it spread like wildfire.
Breaking the Backlog
When new leadership takes over, the first order of the day is often to set up fresh teams that will break through the deep patterns that have established themselves. The key to doing this successfully, is to set an expectation of open and authentic discussion. By making these teams cross functional, you get past the silo walls described above. Lateral communication starts to flow once again and customer service improves.
You may not have the benefit of a well-architected, cross-functional team to work within, but the good news is that the same coaching tips apply.
To break through the backlog in your firm:
- Bring your insight in clear authentic service of the end customer. Ideally, you can draw a pretty direct line from your insight to a real end consumer. In the case of one team, it was very easy to over-focus internally, but when we connected it to the outside, the story became so much clearer.
- Bring it with respect and tact. You need to approach those in power with respect, but you shouldn’t treat them as if they are brittle. Be specific, relatable and concise – they’ll prompt you for the deeper background if they need it.
- Most importantly, do it quickly. Information doesn’t age well, and honestly, every senior leader I have ever worked with would rather get bad news quickly rather than wait. Time is the most irreplaceable commodity in firms. Showing you respect it by providing input quickly will serve you well.
One of the best turnaround CEOs I’ve had a chance to work with started with a move I have used since I learned it. He put in place a mandatory weekly report that had a minimum of three words that were to be written under the headings of accomplishments, issues and plans. The rules were simple: no more than one page and the report must be on his desk each Friday by noon. There were only two ways to get in trouble – be late and not surface any issues.
This tool revived authentic vertical communication, and not surprisingly, the firm began to wake up and respond.
If you’d like to talk about how to form cross-functional teams that can move your firm, we should talk. Feel free to reach me at 847-651-1014 or by setting up an appointment at this link.
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