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Don't like those people? Interview them!
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Greetings!
~ Coach Boone, "Remember the Titans" ~
When facilitating team bonding sessions for leadership teams, one of the things I've been getting people to do is to get together in threes or fours with those team members with whom they would like a better relationship. Usually, that follows a similar session where they get together in pairs or threes with those team members with whom they do have a reasonably good relationship. The team members have to be willing to be open to each other, of course, so using Coach Boone's injunction to his team at Gettysburg is quite useful. The results have been rather encouraging, as I have been privileged to observe people applying what they have learned from trust models like the Johari Window and experiencing the benefits for themselves.
A scene from "Remember the Titans" shows the white and black players interviewing each other using an interview sheet given to each of them by the coach. Trainers and leaders can use similar techniques to get people talking to each other, particularly when wanting to improve relationships between people who do not like working with each other. Once the channels of communication are open, possibilities for further collaboration open up like refreshing new vistas. Very often, we dislike others because we have our own frames of reference, preferences and prejudices. We forget that inside each of the persons we do not like, there is actually a person who is very like us in many ways. Leaders, coaches and trainers need to set the tone where mutual respect is at least implicitly agreed upon, if not actually enforced, before embarking upon such ventures.
I trust you have found this little titbit useful and I do encourage you to try it out for yourself at your workplace, whether you happen to be in a leadership position or not. Have fun making new friends! |
