What team leaders need to foster open communication & avoid the development of "elephants in the room."

1. Connecting leaders with the essential shift that makes everything possible.
Leader Requirements for Elephant-Free Teams
By De Yarrison, CPCC, ACC
Excerpted from our 4-Part Series “Elephant Hunting: An Environmentally Friendly Approach
to Taming the Elephant in the Room”
Receive the entire series, free of charge, via our home page: www.EssentialShiftNow.com
1. Ensure a collaborative team climate. Research conducted by The University of Denver
over a 20 year period revealed that collaboration is the dual presence of openness and
supportiveness: “the ability to raise and resolve the real issues standing in the way of a team
accomplishing its goal, and to do so in a way that brings out the best thinking and attitude of
everyone involved.”
When Teams Work Best, Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson, Sage Publications, Inc., 2001
In my work with teams, we often begin by creating a shared vision of what is needed in order
for each team member to feel most engaged, most enlivened, and to contribute fully towards
the goals of the team. Below is a list of the team qualities or “must-haves” that I hear most
frequently from my clients:
 Shared values
 Trust
 Authenticity
 Camaraderie
 Belief in one another and in the goals of the team
 Positivity
 Knowing that we “have each other’s back” or that “we’re all in this together
The team leader must authentically adopt these, and any other, desired behaviors, modeling
the attributes he/she expects to see in others. The science emerging from the neuroscience
research tells us just how contagious emotions and mood are, and how powerfully a leader’s
emotions and mood influence the way people feel, and ultimately, how they perform. Leaders
who understand this dynamic can more effectively engage their employees, leverage talents,
build supportive collaborative teams, and create an environment that fosters productive
change.
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2. “As we explore the discoveries of neuroscience, we are struck by how closely the best
psychological theories of development map to the newly charted hardwiring of the brain.”
Daniel Goleman & Richard Boyatzis, Social Intelligence & the Biology of Leadership
2. Continually work on expanding your self-awareness, self-management, social awareness,
and relationship management. These four areas form the framework of the emotional
intelligence model. Get familiar with this model by reading: Primal Leadership or Resonant
Leadership (or both!). See my recommended reading list in Appendix A.
My reading list also includes several articles covering the latest research from the fields of
neuroscience and neuro-leadership. These articles are a must-read for any leader who is
serious about delivering exceptional leadership to his/her organization.
Exceptional leaders MUST be attuned to the emotional needs of their followers. And
exceptional leaders must be skilled at appropriately responding to emotional needs in service
of achieving outstanding results through enthusiastic, committed employees.
“Indeed, the ability to intentionally address the social brain in the service of optimal
performance will be a distinguishing leadership capability in the years ahead.”
David Rock, PhD, Managing with the Brain in Mind
Engage an executive coach to partner with you on your journey.
Nobody has to do this alone!
610.287.2989 De@EssentialShiftNow.com
3. Model the transparent way. Be the first to proactively name and talk about potential
elephants. For example, if you know that team members are wondering about - or gossiping
about – xyz topic, be transparent about it. Take people’s concerns and fears right off the table
by opening up the topic for conversation. You might say something like, “I realize there are a
lot of questions you have about xyz. I don’t have any more information right now, and when I
do, I’ll let you know whatever I can. What specific questions do you have that I might be able
to answer now?”
It is crucial for leaders to realize that their team members need them to stay in
communication with them about the topics that matter. Whether or not the leader has any
new information to offer or answers to provide. Keeping the topic open for discussion is the
antidote to creating elephants in the room. When there is a lack of clarity, people will fill in the
blanks for themselves. Remove the opportunity for people to make assumptions and fill in the
blanks or holes in the communication. The leader must remove ambiguity. Teams do not
move forward effectively in the presence of unclear or unspoken expectations. Rather, teams
will find themselves faced with a lack of team member commitment and a lack of real
accountability.
Learn more about our services & how we can partner with you on your journey:
www.EssentialShiftNow.com 610.287.2989 De@EssentialShiftNow.com
www.Facebook.com/EssentialShift
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3. Essential Shift’s
Recommended Reading List for Leaders
Receive our Free 4-Part Series: Elephant Hunting: An Environmentally Friendly Approach
to Taming the Elephant in the Room
Sign up on our home page: www.EssentialShiftNow.com
BOOKS
1. Primal Leadership, Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard
Boyatzis, Annie McKee
2. The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
3. Social Intelligence, The New Science of Human Relationships by Daniel Goleman
4. Resonant Leadership, Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness,
Hope, and Compassion by Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee
5. Nonviolent Communication, A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
6. Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose by
Rajendra S. Sisodia, David B. Wolfe and Jagdish N. Sheth
7. Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
8. Your Brain at Work by David Rock
9. A Magnificent Mind at Any Age: Natural Ways to Unleash Your Brain's Maximum Potential
by Daniel G. Amen
10. The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John C. Maxwell
11. Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
12. The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples by John M. Gottman
13. The Relationship Cure by John M. Gottman
14. Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com
ARTICLES
1. The Neuroscience of Leadership by David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz
http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/31881/rock-schwartz-sb-4306207.pdf
2. Managing with the Brain in Mind by David Rock
http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/31881/managingwbraininmind.pdf
3. Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership by Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis
http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/null?&exclusive=filemgr.download&file_id=481662
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