Page 170 - Fearless Leadership

Standing for the Success of Each Other 157

This time Marco listened. And he turned to the group and said,
“I reacted too quickly. What do you guys want to tell me?” This time
the group talked and fully disclosed their concerns.

The Result. The group meeting surfaced many issues that had
impacted trust and working relationships. Marco took accountabil-
ity for his impact and the splintered group had an honest conversa-
tion without finger-pointing and blaming one another. Even Kevin
demonstrated his willingness to be part of the team. The group of
individuals began the process of becoming a bona fide team and
building committed partnerships with one another.
Lesson Learned. Even groups of talented individuals have trust
issues that must be resolved in order to build high performance
teams. Because trust is not a one-time event, team members must
learn how to talk about trust, be attentive to the relationship, and
restore trust quickly when it is compromised.

Without committed partnerships, teams cannot form and people
become isolated. With no ability to confront blind spots or to gain and
restore trust, they move from being a lame duck to a dead duck. When
you take a stand that your team or organization will work together as com-
mitted partners, instead of a group of individual experts, you begin the
process of transformation in earnest.

THE AGREEMENTS OF COMMITTED PARTNERS
Committed partners operate at the highest level of integrity and account-
ability. They agree to a high standard of behavior for how they will inter-
act, align, and deal with breakdowns. They stand for the success of each
other, privately and publicly. They are fearless and relentless in putting
an end to conspiring against others.
They grant each other trust and agree to immediately talk to the appro-
priate person if they feel they can no longer stand for them. The declara-
tion of committed partners is “I am granting you trust. If at any point I
feel I cannot trust you, I will talk with you immediately and not to other
people. I will not gossip about you or undermine, conspire against, or
blame you. If there is a breakdown between us, you have my commitment
that I will address it immediately with you to restore our partnership.”