Let’s face it, we all love a quick fix.

• The meditation app that clears your mind of all interference to create a zen-like state and blissful sleep.
• The turmeric shot that will definitely cure that virus.
• The injection that allows you to eat carbs to your heart’s content and never gain a pound.

No judgement here.

But my eye does twitch when I see this ‘quick fix’ mindset applied to team leadership.

Sometimes leaders with issues about their team’s ownership, engagement or buy-in, say to me in a coaching session:

“Well, I bought them all dinner and asked them what was going on.
They’ve definitely been listened to.”
Or
“We had a great chat at the awayday, so we all know how to get the best out of each other now.”

It’s often followed with “So I really don’t know what the issue is!” [folded arms and a frown].

It’s the equivalent of buying your partner dinner on Valentine’s Day and then assuming they’re desperately happy for the rest of the year.

It just isn’t going to cut it.

Listen up. There’s no quick fix for leading teams. Yes, there are strategies that can have an immediate effect. But without focus and repetition the impact won’t hold.

In a volatile world where things move quickly, new problems emerge for individuals and teams overnight.

Blink and you’ll miss that meeting where Mx Chatty was actually quite quiet. Or suddenly ‘Team Positive’ feels like ‘Team Pulling Teeth’. Problems start to build while you’ve been focussing on other stuff, naively thinking your team building was ‘done’ for now.

The big problem? Leaders often mistake quantity for quality of conversation. Just because you’ve spoken to your right-hand person 5 times today doesn’t mean you know what’s really going on with them…

Connection, not catch up

The good news is that the remedy is simple. Make a distinction between the ‘task’ and the ‘individual’ in all your team conversations - both group and 121. And actively plan and make time for both.

Be clear in your mind for each interaction when are you working on:
1. the deliverables or outcomes OR
2. the individual or team

I know you think you don’t have time for it. But the more you do of (2), the easier (1) becomes.

And the time you need to dedicate to team connection? The research on this is patchy.

Leadership IQ surveyed 32,410 executives and found ‘the optimal amount of time to spend interacting with their leader is 6 hours per week’- based on impacts like how inspired, engaged, innovative and motivated they felt. What the survey doesn’t speak to is the quality of the time spent.

My two-penneth? 1-hour of quality discussion (about them and how to solve their challenges) beats 6-hours of ‘catch-up’. Any day.

Make the change today. Find a time when you can connect with your team. Trust me, everybody will reap the rewards. And think of the fortune you’ll save on ‘air the grievance’ dinners!