Page 174 - Fearless Leadership

Standing for the Success of Each Other 161

ated considerable damage and ill will, one apology was not
enough. She had to demonstrate authentic remorse and a notice-
able change in her behavior before others were willing to trust her
again. Isabel was determined to stand for the success of her team
and she did not give up. One by one, team members began to stand
for her success.

To build committed partnerships, start by ending conspiracies against
others and redirect underground conversations to the appropriate per-
son or venue so the issue can be resolved. Fearless leadership is a
methodology for quickly changing direction and taking accountability
to get things back on track. But even so, do not be deluded into think-
ing that a high performance team and committed partnerships are the
panaceas for curing all ills. The cure is to build an organization in which
people are resilient and agile. High performance teams are not models
of perfect behavior; they are imperfect teams that know how to recover
quickly.

Listening For Positive Intention
In standing for the success of others, committed partners listen for posi-
tive intention. They start with the belief that people want to do their best.
They trust others and recognize that there are times when people are
unable to clearly articulate what they need or want to contribute.
Committed partners listen generously and focus on the positive inten-
tion to discover the spoken or unspoken commitment.
Let’s contrast this with the automatic way of listening which is to
be right and have a know-it-all attitude. It takes work to genuinely lis-
ten to others while the mind is judging what they are saying. Notice the
chatter in your head (judging, criticizing, assessing), and realize that
you need to override it in order to hear what people are attempting to
communicate.
The first step is to catch when you listen against others. For example,
you may find yourself frustrated in a conversation or meeting and your
mind is screaming loudly “This is absolute crap.” The moment you have
this reaction, you stop listening, and your attention is on what you want