Navigating Team Dynamics

Professor Lisa Stefanac

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Connecting in / Getting settled
§ Turn off notifications during this learning hour together
§ Be open and ready to dig in
§ Consider having nearby a place to take notes to capture what you are learning

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Quick Review

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Five Drivers of Team Effectiveness

Key Factors Team Assembly

Team Alignment Meeting Processes

Team Dynamics
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 Roles are the four basic parts that
people play in conversation.

Systems are different ways of governing Languages are different ways of

the speakers in a conversation. focusing the content in a conversation.

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Least visible

SYSTEMS

LANGUAGES

ROLES
Most visible

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Raising the STAKES

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Raising the Stakes
§ Leaders must be able to stay focused and under self-regulated control in high-stakes situations
in order to see present dangers and make decisions that guide others towards best solutions
§ One’s own shadows tend to surface uninvited in high stakes situations and crises
§ High-stakes leaders must take responsibility for their own shadows and be prepared to help
others manage theirs
§ Few things are more important for leaders and coaches to know about themselves than what
triggers their high stakes behaviors and how they behave in these high-pressured times
§ For leaders, being deaf and blind to these forces and their impacts undermines their judgment,
leads to poor or morally tainted decisions, and undermines or intimidates those whose very
support they need in order to lead well

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 Roles

Systems Languages

What profile is your “nemesis”?

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Stakes-Raising Fears/Experiences

What matters most here is the perception of a threat, regardless of whether or not it is a true fact.
Stakes Raising Themes
n Having to interact with one’s “fear opposite” - one’s nemesis
n Being degraded or humiliated when one can’t strike back
n Seeing someone being degraded or humiliated in public
n Being suppressed or restrained in the freedom to act
n Having one’s creativity stifled, or squelched
n Being told one is a failure or incompetent
n Having to engage in pseudo-intimacy
n Living or working with someone who habitually lies or
deliberately distorts the truth
n Witnessing violence, torture, or the rendering of physical harm
n Witnessing the unjust treatment of the powerless
n Witnessing cowardice or the fear of risk
n Betrayal of others for any personal gain
n Fear of loss of control
n Fear of chaos or anarchy
Based on the life’s work of Dr. David Kantor
n Having my feelings dismissed or belittled
n Being denied the right to be heard
n Witnessing or experiencing loss of emotional control
n Fear of displeasing a loved ‘other’ or valued authority figure.
n Being subjected to the exercise of absolute authority
n Having my truths or ideas prohibited or revoked
n Being involved in intense conflict with others or witnessing it
n Being called shallow or superficial
n Being with people who disguise ideology as ideas
n Being with people who are ambitious for financial gain only
n Being with people who evidence “eccentric”, ”bizarre”, OR
“freaky” behavior
n Being with people who are inauthentic, phony, or make false
claims
n Being denied the right to be heard (feelings, ideas, solutions)
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Basic Feelings of Discomfort
SAD/
GRIEF

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MAD/
FEAR ANGER

Frustration can be a
SHAME/ mask for any one of
GUILT these basic feelings
Recognizing Feelings of Discomfort
SAD/
“I had something really important – now it’s gone”
GRIEF

MAD/
“I can’t get what I want; something is blocking it; something is in the way”
ANGER

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FEAR “Something is coming and it’s dangerous; it is going to wipe me out”

GUILT “I did something bad”

SHAME “I am bad”
Raising the Bar on Team Performance
Assumptions
§ Individually we learn when we step out of our comfort zones
§ Teams also learn when they collectively operate outside their comfort zone --
- in a “productive” zone of discomfort
§ It is natural to avoid this discomfort as individuals and as teams – but it isn’t
always the best for learning
§ We shouldn’t be in this zone of discomfort continually
n But should be aware when we are “avoiding” it and when are “over
doing” it
§ Often the zone of discomfort involves situations that are “messy”, when the
problem or solution is not clear

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Strategy execution
and org alignment

Transforming Self
Technical Adaptive Transforming Others
Transforming Teams
Leadership Leadership Transforming org system/s

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Key Characteristics of Technical Problems and
Adaptive Challenges

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Adapted from the work of Ron Heifetz

 The Practice of Adaptive Leadership
Unproductive
High
Adaptive
Work Stakes

Productive
Medium
Amount of Discomfort

Adaptive
Work Stakes

Adaptive
Challenge Low
Unaddressed Stakes

Adapted From: “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” by Ron Heifetz, et. al., 2009
Time
Copyright © 2022 KSE Leadership. Reproduction without permission is prohibited
 Eliminate the Discomfort
Most people have been conditioned to solve the problem Unproductive
High
and eliminate discomfort immediately Adaptive
Stakes
Work

Productive
Medium
Amount of Discomfort

Habitual Individual Response Adaptive

Work Stakes

“Work Adaptive
Challenge Low
avoidance” is
the common Unaddressed Stakes
response to
experiencing
medium stakes

Adapted From: “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” by Ron Heifetz, et. al., 2009
Time
Copyright © 2022 KSE Leadership. Reproduction without permission is prohibited
 Technical Solution Response
In this case, awareness is raised rapidly about an adaptive challenge
and the system responds with a technical solution response Unproductive
High
Adaptive
Work Stakes

Productive
Medium
Amount of Discomfort

Habitual System Response Adaptive

Work Stakes

Examples of technical Adaptive

solutions are: “band Challenge Low
Feeling medium stakes,
a technical solution is aids”, “quick fixes”, and Unaddressed Stakes
adopted to reduce the focusing on other work
stakes as fast as
possible

Although the focus has

Raising returned to routine
awareness of the operations, the adaptive
adaptive challenge remains to be
challenge and addressed to thrive
need to change

Adapted From: “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” by Ron Heifetz, et. al., 2009
Time
Copyright © 2022 KSE Leadership. Reproduction without permission is prohibited
 Productive Zone of Discomfort
Overcoming collective habits around discomfort can create a
productive zone where adaptive work can occur even while some Unproductive
High
Adaptive
discomfort is experienced Work Stakes

Productive Adaptive Work Productive

Medium
Amount of Discomfort

Adaptive
Work Stakes

Adaptive
Challenge Low
Unaddressed Stakes

Raising
awareness of the
adaptive
challenge and
need to change

Adapted From: “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” by Ron Heifetz, et. al., 2009
Time
Copyright © 2022 KSE Leadership. Reproduction without permission is prohibited
 The Work of the Adaptive Leader
Overcoming the habitual limit of tolerance creates a productive
Unproductive
zone of discomfort where adaptive work can occur High
Adaptive
Work Stakes

Productive Adaptive Productive

Medium
Amount of Discomfort

Work
Adaptive
Work Stakes

Adaptive
Challenge Low
Unaddressed Stakes
Effective leadership
regulates the degree of
discomfort to keep the
adaptive work
productive
Raising
awareness of the
adaptive
challenge and
need to change

Adapted From: “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” by Ron Heifetz, et. al., 2009
Time
Copyright © 2022 KSE Leadership. Reproduction without permission is prohibited
Patterns of Unproductive Work
A key to navigating covert processes in adaptive change is
recognizing patterns of unproductive discomfort
Heroic Behaviors and Shadow Behaviors Unproductive
Team Dynamics Behaviors High
Adaptive
Work Stakes

Productive
Medium
Amount of Discomfort

Adaptive
Work Stakes

Adaptive
Challenge Low
Unaddressed Stakes

Raising awareness of
the adaptive challenge
and need to change

Adapted From: “The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” by Ron Heifetz, et. al., 2009
Time
Best Practices in Addressing Discomfort
Diagnosing
§ Learn to REFRAME in order to read the room and diagnose what is happening
§ Improve your pattern recognition about peoples’ patterns of behavior when in high stakes
§ Predict the most likely stakes-raising factors for various stakeholders
§ Look for stakes raising factors specific to a stakeholder’s personal experiences
§ Know who on your team is skilled at resolving conflict and supporting people in distress; be sure you can enable them to perform at their best

Intervening
§ Reframe the conversation into the language domain of CARE and MEANING to explore what the adaptive challenge means to individuals
§ Empower allies who are strong in resolving conflict and encourage them to intervene
§ Provide support for stakeholders who are feeling raised stakes in order to help them do productive adaptive work

Knowing Yourself and Managing Yourself

§ Know your own patterns in high stakes – ask your colleagues (and your families and friends) for feedback about how your behavior changes when in
high stakes
§ Learn to feel compassion for the discomfort that you and others will inevitably feel when facing adaptive change and experiencing high stakes

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Next Steps for Certification
§ Complete all Assignments in Canvas
§ Including Assignment #5 coming out of
this last class
§ Complete the Navigating Team Dynamics
Certificate form (helps Nat/Chelsea know
the name you wish to have included on
your certificate)
§ Access to the course material closes end
of day, June 3

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Next Steps with Team Dynamics
§ Team Dynamics Certification – Assessing in
Action Open Enrollment Program
§ Will post details on Canvas
§ Team Dynamics Profile (TDP) is available with
your teams, with your org
§ Requires a certified practitioner to run the
survey
§ TeamDOT is yours to use for your practice and
team learning
§ Team Effectiveness Profile (TEP) is available
through Assessing in Action as a survey to run
with your team
§ Does not require a certified practitioner

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Q&A

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Thank You