Clean

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Fred (name changed) takes the podium. A hush falls. The entire staff is gathered . They aren’t sure exactly why. Fred makes a lengthy opening speech - vague and broadly encouraging, even congratulatory. We are all doing good work apparently. The room is restless. It’s apparent this is not just a random pep talk. People shuffle and exchange glances. What’s this about? After more preamble,  Fred abruptly changes course and announces a bunch of redundancies. One of the people made redundant speaks up about how she feels. Fred reacts angrily. It gets messy and unnecessarily adversarial. In the aftermath, those few minutes of heated exchange are never mentioned again, but their echoes are felt for several years in the organisation. 

Redundancies are difficult how ever you slice them. For the people directly impacted there’s the uncertainty of being suddenly without a job and all that entails. For team members left behind there’s often a mix of relief, guilt, and increased workload. Depending on the culture, there can also be uncertainty and fear too. For the people managing decisions and announcements it’s a deeply challenging task - especially if you care about the people you work with. It can be a hotbed of stress and emotion. 

Last week we looked at 3 elements for successful team culture - Committed, Clear, and Clean. 

Fred’s announcement is a working example of how not to be clean. Clean means dealing with issues respectfully, well, and at the earliest possible point. We humans are emotional creatures. We can’t help but tangle emotion, ego, expectation and belief with action. It’s both a super power and Achilles’ heel. 

Fred could have been more clean by:

  • Getting straight to the point. The preamble was an attempt to soften the blow. Well meaning, but untidy.

  • Anticipating people’s reasonable reactions and not fighting them aggressively on the day.

  • Acknowledging (not necessarily out loud) his own emotions, fears, and expectations of the meeting and striving to bring his ‘best self’.

  • Treating people with more latitude and kindness on the day.

Difficult conversations of all kinds provoke many of us. ‘Clean’ acknowledges the provocation and seeks to conduct ourselves with the best intent, and assume the best intent of others. Don’t let things fester. Deal with them head on. But also with grace and kindness. Clean builds certainty for teams, even when the circumstances are untidy.

Some other examples:

  • If you need to give someone direction, make it clear. Less clean is making it sound like a suggestion or an option, rather than an instruction.

  • If you are voicing an opinion, own it! Less clean is framing an opinion as a question and expecting everyone to agree with you, or framing opinion as fact.

  • When you sense that something you said was misinterpreted, or caused offence, tidy it up straight away. Less clean is being dismissive of others' reactions or interpretations, or just letting small stuff fester.

  • Discuss/solve problems together. Less clean is laying blame or attacking people as if they are the problem.

How could you be ‘cleaner’ with your team?