🇬🇧 Everyone’s Nice — And Nothing Improves: When Harmony Kills Leadership and Results

00:00:03: When harmony is the norm, then critical issues remain unspoken.

00:00:09: Leadership does not mean everyone feels comfortable all the time.

00:00:12: leadership means The right thing gets done because growth rarely begins in harmony and consensus but always In truth and action.

00:00:26: Welcome to today's Lightwolf podcast.

00:00:30: I'm NOT talking about strategy Today Not About Market Chairs Not About Growth.

00:00:39: I'm talking about a leadership failure that hides behind good intentions, harmony.

00:00:48: Because at the executive level as well on any other leadership level but particularly in the executive levels when you're apart of general management group or overboard – i keep seeing same patterns over and again.

00:01:08: everyone's professional Everyone's respectful.

00:01:14: Meetings are smooth, no friction and precisely because of that nothing improves.

00:01:23: If you're in a C-suite role You need to accept the hard truth.

00:01:29: Harmony is not a leadership objective.

00:01:34: Performance IS And if you ARE in a leadership role I think you have to accept an uncomfortable truth.

00:01:46: It's about getting the right thing done, uh?

00:01:49: The companies that win –the leaders that are perceived as strong and effective leaders– they ensure that the Right Thing gets Done!

00:02:01: And sometimes... ...The Right Thing is something that deserves applause from everyone—and everybody likes it.

00:02:08: However at other times….

00:02:10: …the Right Thing doesn't get any applause because it's tough, but it remains the right thing.

00:02:19: And if you are a leader your role is to make sure that the right things gets done now in doing so and getting The Right Thing Done and Striking A Good Balance Also Between An Atmosphere In A Room In an Open Office In A Boardroom and our desire to go for consensus at times has to be balanced with always making sure that the right thing gets done.

00:02:53: And I see a few classical problems, they might get in the way.

00:02:57: problem one conflict avoidance is mistaken for respect.

00:03:03: In many teams there was rule of collaboration saying we treat each other with respect treat others with respect.

00:03:16: I do my best to do so.

00:03:18: ideally every time, i may occasionally make unintended mistakes in uh...in my own behavior because i'm human but that's my intent-I want to behave in a respectful manner With anyone In this life.

00:03:32: What actually happens though is if that becomes the norm and If That Is Misunderstood then no one says what they really think and bad decisions are not questioned anymore.

00:03:49: Because people misperceive respect as harmony, right?

00:03:55: Mediocre performance gets silently tolerated rather than addressed problems are softened or completely ignored And that's not respectful.

00:04:07: I think it is the opposite.

00:04:08: This is disrespectful in pursuit of harmony And you as a leader, especially in an executive or board role.

00:04:17: You'll see this immediately.

00:04:18: If at the meeting everyone agrees silently without discussion it's not only bad sign It is massive real risk.

00:04:29: At senior levels.

00:04:30: The language is polished The tone is controlled and perceived and intended to be professional.

00:04:39: But underneath that When harmony is the norm, then critical issues remain unspoken.

00:04:50: Weak decisions go unchallenged.

00:04:53: Underperformance is tolerated at very high cost.

00:04:58: Risks unknown but not confronted.

00:05:01: What looks like alignment Is often silent disagreement.

00:05:06: and let's be clear If your executive team agrees too quickly you might not have alignment.

00:05:13: You might have avoidance, right?

00:05:16: And that's not stability That's exposure and can lead to collective underperformance.

00:05:23: another problem I occasionally perceive more so in upper management meetings an executive team meeting than just the other week In the last two weeks when i had a pleasure together with my team To support Very senior executive teams wants a team of nine once the team of six running massive businesses four digit number of people and.

00:05:50: What they worked hard on an we tried to support them on.

00:05:53: it is to avoid that consensus replaces accountability, and what's right?

00:06:02: because there sometimes happens when harmony is taking over.

00:06:06: right consensus gets to take the front role and replaces accountability.

00:06:13: And it replaces the right thing.

00:06:15: Many leaders believe good leadership means simply taking everyone along, I think its important that people want follow you when your are a woman leading a C-suite or running company.

00:06:29: Of course You need People To Come Along!

00:06:32: You Need People To Follow You And Want To Follow Yourself.

00:06:35: There Is No Doubt About That.

00:06:37: So often discussions happen, votes happen.

00:06:40: Then more discussions until everyone's somewhat satisfied.

00:06:44: but the problem is consensus is often the lowest common denominator that no one objects to But not the best solution.

00:06:54: yeah symptoms you can then observe when your in one of those meetings and in one Of those roles.

00:07:00: our decisions take very long often too long.

00:07:04: responsibility gets diluted.

00:07:07: No one is really responsible.

00:07:08: Maybe many people are responsible, but in my conviction and experience as soon there was more than one person responsible or accountable no-one's accountable.

00:07:17: It's always the others when things go wrong.

00:07:19: Yeah, no one truly stands behind results And in the end everyone feels hurt But the company doesn't move forward.

00:07:29: That's dilution not leadership right?

00:07:32: and a third The problem I've occasionally seen in the companies who we support, and also when I was still a general manager CEO of the corporate world is that performance conversations may get diluted.

00:07:49: This is the most sensitive point.

00:07:51: i think leaders avoid clear statements because they don't want to demotivate others They fear conflict or want to maintain what they perceive as good atmosphere.

00:08:04: So feedback gets watered down.

00:08:06: That was quite good, and maybe we could improve a bit.

00:08:12: what the other person hears is it's fine And that's exactly where stagnation begins.

00:08:18: That's where performance stalls and when mediocrity starts scaling Because Performance is just watered-down rather than named objectively.

00:08:30: so this is as far as describing The areas of problem that I've perceived in my career In three different corporate companies, I spend about fifteen years in C-suite roles and companies... ...in consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and the beer industry.

00:08:47: Responsible for four or five digit numbers of people from more than twenty countries!

00:08:53: I've seen some of this although i can also say often times we did confront things We DID work on it Because we wanted to perform and oftentimes, We did.

00:09:04: So there are solutions And for this podcast today I've brought three ideas For you that may help You when you have the perception That in The team you lead or In the Team you just join That everyone's nice but nothing Improves.

00:09:33: Institutionalize clarity.

00:09:36: I think this is one of the important points that we need to get clear and then we need, we need To get clarity on.

00:09:44: yeah Those three ideas That i'm sharing with you now are from my own experience also as a founder Of startups say.

00:09:51: i found it two start-ups And i'm glad that both work.

00:09:54: Both are healthy.

00:09:56: Fourteen years ago i started The first one and Then five Years ago the second One and things Are going healthily.

00:10:02: So these are solutions from my experience, from my practical experience.

00:10:07: No theory no models.

00:10:09: I know the models i know the theory but quick direct and constructive.

00:10:15: in practice this means institutionalized clarity.

00:10:20: In a recent global management conference where five hundred global executives came together in Berlin our Most senior leader who has been the CEO of a one hundred thousand people organization for six successful years He made his statement in times of uncertainty.

00:10:43: I'm quoting and quoting David Taylor now.

00:10:47: They would said People may want certainty from you, but you cannot give them certainty.

00:10:54: You can give them clarity.

00:10:57: Unquote David Taylor former ceo of Procter and Gamble, the statement resonated with me so much that nine months later where we are today it's March twenty-twenty six.

00:11:11: That statement is still in my mind yeah?

00:11:13: And this way I say one other things.

00:11:16: you as a senior leader can do to get the right thing done!

00:11:20: Not always the harmonious thing is institutionalized clarity.

00:11:25: In practice this means criticism indications and subtle hints.

00:11:33: No, it's expressed factually and specifically.

00:11:39: The target was X. the result is Y. Why Was It Not Achieved?

00:11:43: Let's talk.

00:11:45: Issues are not implied but they're named.

00:11:50: Underperformance Is Not Buffered But Its Addressed And trade-offs Are Made Explicit so that we are clear on what we're trading off.

00:12:01: When you say yes to one thing, What Are We Saying No To?

00:12:06: Because You Can't Say Yes To Both!

00:12:08: Let's Make The Trade Of Implicit.

00:12:10: And Most Importantly You Lead By Example.

00:12:14: Your People Do Not Only Read The Messages That You Write They Don't Only Hear The Town Hall Meetings when You Speak.

00:12:22: most importantly they see what you do.

00:12:25: no pressure We are humans, we can make mistakes.

00:12:29: But people see what you do.

00:12:33: so use every opportunity to lead the way that they want and others as well be their role model.

00:12:41: If you as a leader communicate softly with just soft indications your team will do the same.

00:12:49: if however you provide clarity uncertainty decreases Because your team doesn't follow your values.

00:12:58: Primarily it follows your behavior and maybe in the second row also you're values, but they don't see your values.

00:13:05: what?

00:13:05: They do see every single day is your behavior And that's what they mimic.

00:13:08: That's what I follow so that solution.

00:13:11: one for you institutionalize clarity.

00:13:15: My second idea for you is separate harmony from decision-making.

00:13:21: Separate how of making decisions from the what, right thing that needs to get done.

00:13:29: One thing a leader has to accept good decisions don't always feel good.

00:13:35: is their discussion great?

00:13:39: Is there consensus?

00:13:41: no not necessarily introduce clear decision principles.

00:13:46: who decides what by when based on criteria and then you follow through.

00:13:56: I tried to use once in a while is ladies and gentlemen, dear team members.

00:14:04: i clearly heard you all!

00:14:06: I perceived all your perspectives and arguments.

00:14:10: now it's time to converge.

00:14:13: we can only execute one plan.

00:14:15: We want to execute the best plan And here is the decision.

00:14:21: Here Is The Key Reason Why?

00:14:22: I think this is the right Decision We move.

00:14:28: This behavior creates transparency, inclusion because all voices are heard, transparency and orientation on the direction we take... ...and learning because I provide the reason why i decide the way I decide.

00:14:45: Not easy!

00:14:46: Because I may be pissing off some in team right now cause they want opposite of what I decided But can't always make everybody happy.

00:14:54: My role as a leader is to get that thing done.

00:14:58: So, let me repeat.

00:14:59: One way is to say look I clearly heard you all!

00:15:02: i heard all your perspectives.

00:15:04: now time to converge one decision ,one plan and team behind it.

00:15:08: here's the Decision.

00:15:10: Here' s The ONE key reason why this is the right decision We move.

00:15:16: This creates clarity Learning And speed And speed creates advantage.

00:15:24: A third idea for you to consider Make performance measurable and visible.

00:15:30: Harmony often arises where performance is less clear, therefore I recommend define clear expectations.

00:15:41: what do you expect from your partners?

00:15:44: What outcome in what quality?

00:15:47: by what day?

00:15:48: What behavior do you be expect?

00:15:50: form each other articulated.

00:15:52: don't assume You know it.

00:15:53: It only gets clearer when you align.

00:15:56: Make results transparent and address deviations directly.

00:16:01: And do it without drama, not I feel this isn't going optimally... ...and we all need to be worried?

00:16:09: No!

00:16:09: We don't.

00:16:10: Instead i suggest a formulation like look the target was this.

00:16:15: The achievement is that let's clarify why.

00:16:19: What's the reason?

00:16:21: what can we do about it?

00:16:23: That's factual and effective?

00:16:25: sure Harmony is important and it's nice, comfortable.

00:16:32: But let us have a quick survey.

00:16:35: I am curious to learn from you if we could invest just ten seconds that all of this takes?

00:16:41: Question for You!

00:16:43: Is harmony in your team more important than clear decisions?

00:16:48: If you can please take your smartphone now get into the attachments.

00:16:53: click on this four scale.

00:16:55: your answer Is harmony more important in your team than clear decisions?

00:17:01: Thank you for quickly participating.

00:17:05: It will help you understand and get aware of how decisions are taken, what is important to the team.

00:17:12: The uncomfortable truth – if everything in our teams always harmonious we should become suspicious because real performance creates friction.

00:17:23: There were different opinions Sometimes opposing views, uncomfortable statements and decisions that some people sometimes may perceive as tough.

00:17:37: Now please don't get me wrong.

00:17:40: this means in no way your team should be toxic.

00:17:44: Never Should People Behave In A Toxic Manor.

00:17:48: Let Me Be Crystal Clear On This Toxicity In My Teams is absolutely non-acceptable, never.

00:17:59: But it does mean... It can become uncomfortable on the way to performance and results in the end.

00:18:09: what matters not how meetings feel all of a time but even more that right things happen after meeting.

00:18:23: Leadership does not mean everyone feels comfortable all the time.

00:18:27: Leadership means, that right thing gets done.

00:18:30: So in summary If you're realizing your team may be too nice Then start with yourself.

00:18:41: Think about ways how can provide more clarity More courage And less harmony as an end itself Because growth Rarely begins in harmony and consensus, but always in truth because we'd like to keep the ball rolling.

00:19:28: Leadership is lifelong learning, it's never gonna end and I hope you enjoyed this input today!

00:19:35: i very much look forward to you dialing in again and joining the Lightwolf community next time maybe already next monday.

00:19:44: thankyou take care.

00:19:46: see u next time.