I had the honor of guiding the executive team of an organization on a development day. They wanted to improve their collaboration and communication. It was almost comedy to see what was happening in this team. The leader stood out through his ‘absence,’ withdrawing from every dialogue and shouting that the others should just give their opinions. Then there was the Strategic Visionary (“We need to think out-of-the-box!”), the Operational Pitbull (“Your department isn’t doing what they’re supposed to do!”), and the Silent Excel Guru, who rarely speaks, but when he does, he actually makes a valid point. During a collaboration experiment, the true nature of the team members really came out—like a group of kindergartners in the sandbox, fighting over toys! No leadership, no listening to each other, just wanting to be right… Meanwhile, the organization was watching in open-mouthed amazement at this live soap opera: Drama Until Point of No Return. Employees quickly figured out how it works in practice: wait until the smoke (and egos) clear.
I threw in a provocative intervention: “Guys, get an office dog!” It went completely silent, and everyone stared at each other in astonishment, doubt slowly creeping into the group. Until someone said, “Hey, what if we actually did that? Then we would… could….!” And with that, the entire energy shifted, and the group action started flowing. One idea after another came to the table. Suddenly, I saw an executive team that could work together—they just needed a little ‘brain error’ and a common goal to make it happen!