Incivility Drives Team Dysfunctions
The Basic Tenets Of The CREW Approach:
- People are highly tuned to indicators of respect.
- Reciprocity is Powerful
- Respect prompts respect from others.
- Disrespect prompts disrespect from others.
- Day-to-day contacts among colleagues are the infrastructure of teamwork.
- Improving the quality of day-to-day contacts among colleagues supports health and productivity.
Patrick Lencioni. In his bestselling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, lists:
- Absence of Trust
- Fear of Conflict
- Lack of Commitment
- Avoidance of Accountability
- Inattention to Detail
Poor collegiality underlies all five dysfunctions. This post concentrates on the first dysfunction: Absence of Trust.
Lacking trust, a team cannot function. People share their expertise, information, and energy when they trust others to accept their contribution appropriately. Without trust, you hold back.
- You fear humiliation when others mock or reject your contributions.
- You fear losing recognition for their contribution as others take credit for your efforts.
- You fear others will undermine your core values by distorting your contribution.
Trust rests upon experience. The day-to-day contact among colleagues is their most credible and emotionally powerful experience about one another. It will determine their level of trust.
Action Points
How to promote a culture of civility:
- Put respect into mission statements.
- Articulate that value into policies.
- Translate those policies into accountable, monitored processes.
Sometimes the planning process is not enough. Then a CREW process can turn things around.