Good leadership team development is like marriage therapy.
It’s far better to start when things are going ok than when you are in crisis.
This is an actual statement I made to a client in relation to starting team coaching now, when the team feels fairly stable as they’re still in the “forming” phase.
I went on to explain that my husband and I went to marriage therapy before we got married 18 years ago. I’d been married before — what I call my Starter Marriage — and given that the first one didn’t work out, I didn’t want to make the same mistakes again. He also was divorced and had the same mindset. So we agreed to do the work even though it might not have felt like we needed it right then.
Of course we needed it, and we agree that marriage therapy before marriage was an invaluable investment that has paid dividends over the years.
The idea absolutely translates to team development: spend the time and money before things get bad. It’s a lot easier to identify potential stumbling blocks and explore how to get past them in a psychologically safe manner when the emotions and stakes aren’t high.
That said, if you haven’t started (I’m talking about team development here) and you are in crisis, it’s not too late. As long as your team is willing to do the work, you’ll see progress.
(PS: Em dashes are mine.)
Looking to increase the cohesion, trust, and impact of your leadership team? Reach out and let’s discuss The Compass Team Experience and how I can help.
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