Can your ‘Bad Boss’ Really Kill You? The Second Dysfunction of a Team

An article in our national paper today (The Globe and Mail, November 25, 2008) entitled “Are bad bosses killing you?” states that, in addition to being annoying, bad bosses “may also boost the chance of heart attacks.” According to the article, a Swedish study of male workers published in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine journal (released November 24, 2008), found that having an incompetent manager may increase the risk of developing heart disease by 50 percent. And there’s more: The study found that the risk of heart-disease grows the longer a worker stays with the same company.

Just what makes a ‘bad boss’? We all have our own version, I’m sure – there are bosses who are inconsiderate, who bully, who show no acknowledgement of, or appreciation for, the time and energy that we put into our jobs, or who can’t or won’t clearly define how our efforts contribute to the team or to the company as a whole.  The end result is stress for the employee, which can lead to a whole range of ailments, including heart disease. In this economy, if employees don’t feel supported by an HR team, they may feel stuck and unable to make the choice to leave their job.

I’m even more strongly struck by the model in Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which clearly sets out strategies for a ‘good boss’. The book outlines a model of teamwork for organizations, and discusses five typical ‘dysfunctions’ of a team which need to be addressed and solved in order for a team to successfully work its magic.

The first dysfunction was Absence of Trust, which I touched on in my previous post The Power of “Team” in Business – The First Dysfunction. The second dysfunction is Fear of Conflict. Interestingly, this exact issue came up in a discussion I had over lunch just yesterday with a colleague. Something had happened in a meeting and the manager, who is clearly uncomfortable with conflict, was unable to address the issue right away. This resulted in ongoing upset for her direct report. Teams that lack trust are unwilling to engage in unfiltered and passionate (and healthy!) debates of ideas and instead, resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments, creating an air of artificial harmony.

 

How does your team handle conflict or disagreement among the members?
What structure, information and support is in place to help your team members or employees deal with conflict and the resulting stress?

For the team assessment (first mentioned in my previous post), score your team - on a scale of 1 to 3 (1=Rarely, 2=Sometimes, 3=Usually) – on the following statements relating to the dysfunction of Fear of Conflict:

1. Team members are passionate and unguarded in their discussion of issues.

2. Team meetings are compelling, and not boring.

3. During team meetings, the most important – and difficult – issues are put on the table to be resolved.

What’s your total score?

The scoring system works like this:
A score of 8 or 9 is a probable indication that the dysfunction is not a problem for your team.
A score of 6 or 7 indicates that the dysfunction could be a problem.
A score of 3 to 5 is probably an indication that the dysfunction needs to be addressed.

Even if your team’s score is a 9, its important to remember that every team needs constant work; without it, even the best teams may deviate toward dysfunction.

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If you are curious about what Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching can do for you and your business partnership or team, feel free to send me an email at trilogy@pathcom.com to request a complimentary sample session.

Warmly,
Jennifer

Wake Up Women Photo Contest

LIVE IT! LOVE IT! BE IT!

The publishers of the bestselling book series, Wake Up Women, are having a contest to win a chapter in the next book.  To enter, simply post a photo and/or essay of yourself personifying your favorite personality trait.

The winner will win a chapter in the next Wake Up Women book: BE Happier, Healthier & Wealthier, and the two runners-up will receive Wake Up Women gift bags valued at $200.00 each.

Go to: http://www.wuwbestseller.com/contest to enter (and you can vote on your favourite entry as well!)
The deadline to enter is November 30, 2008
The contest is open to US and Canadian residents

HAVE FUN!!

Cruising the Pacific Coast Highway

I was very fortunate to have spent several days in California last week attending a networking/marketing conference held by Wake Up Live.  I met a wonderful group of my Wake Up Women co-authors; we were all very happy to finally meet each other (after spending 12 weeks on weekly calls), we learned a lot about each other and enjoyed spending time together.  I am really looking forward to a continued connection with this dynamic group of women!

An exciting development for our book is that the galley copies (which we got our hands on over the weekend!) will be in attendance at the Emmy Awards this week!  Our publishers were taking them for promotional photographs with the actors attending the Emmies – can’t wait to see those pictures!

Cruising the Pacific Coast Highway

As an added bonus to the weekend, I rented a brand new Sebring convertible and spent a day cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway from Newport Beach to Santa Monica.

I had moments when I doubted my decision to do this on my own; parts of the highway were not the most scenic and I felt a little uncomfortable passing through some areas of some cities; I felt a little panicked when I found parking on Venice Beach to be VERY tight, and when I couldn’t figure out how to open the fuel cap while sitting at the gas pump (it was simple, really – but I couldn’t find it in the owner’s manual!!); then it was dark by the time I was driving around LAX to find the car rental return.

In the end, I did not regret my decision.  I’m glad I took the risk and am convinced that it was a very fun way to round out my trip!

A Coaching Moment:

• what is something you would LOVE to do?
• what’s holding you back from doing it?
• what support can you create around moving forward on your dream – just one little step?

Warm in sunny California,
Jennifer

The Wake Up Women Book Cover is Out!

 

WAKE UP WOMEN BE HAPPY, HEALTHY & WEALTHY

I am pleased to show you the cover of the book that I’m a part of – Wake Up Women’s BE Happy, Healthy & Wealthy – which is the first of a new series of books to be published by Wake Up Women.  This book is a compilation of inspiring stories written by over 40 dynamic women (most of whom are coaches) from a variety of backgrounds.  These stories are meant to empower women in their own lives; it covers many areas - relationships, prosperity, health, and spirituality.  The women in these stories talk about having the courage to alter their perceptions, their reality, and ultimately change their lives; these are women who have been where you are.

The authors include Debbie Allen, Terri Amos-Britt, Amy Applebaum, Nicole Brandon, Arielle Ford, Loral Langemeier, and other expert professionals, authors and master coaches from around the world, including some of my colleagues – Anne Berry, Alice Comer, Billie Jenkin, Sheila Pearl, Arlene Rannelli, Pam Robertson, Erica Rueschhoff, Michelle Sanchez - and, of course, me! 

This has been an intensive and exciting learning experience!  The Wake Up Live and Wake Up Women teams have been hugely supportive; we are offered regular tele-classes for developing our business platform and learning marketing strategies.  Many of the co-authors also participate on several conference calls each week to discuss our own businesses, developing alliances with each other, networking strategies, learning on-line social networking and other ‘high-tech’ stuff, and making plans to meet each other.  We are all learning a lot and are enjoying getting to know each other.

We, the co-authors, will be receiving the first editions of the book in October, 2008. These will be limited and in soft-cover, and you can request a signed copy of one directly from one of the co-authors.  So – email me if you’d like me to reserve a copy of this limited edition for you!

We also have a dream of reaching the New York Times Best Seller List with this book and, in order to do this, the book is available for pre-orders for the 2nd edition. To reserve a copy of the 2nd edition of Wake Up Women’s BE Happy, Healthy & Wealthy (which will be a hard cover copy), please go to www.wuwbestseller.com.  There is no obligation to actually purchase anything at this time (or in the future if you change your mind).

When you reserve a copy of the book, you will immediately receive 3 free gifts, which are electronic downloads. You will be asked for your name and email address, and how you heard about Wake Up Women. You will receive a further 3 emails from Wake Up Women over several months with offers to purchase other teleclasses and/or electronic booklets which they are making available as special offers connected to this campaign.  Again, there is no obligation to purchase any of these items if you do not want them. The final offer to purchase a copy of the book will come prior to the release of the 2nd edition, which is scheduled for February 2009.

Please let me know if you or any friends of yours sign up to reserve a copy of the book, so I can include you on my list of contacts for further updates about the book!

A Coaching Moment:

• What is happening in your life that you are excited about?
• If its, ‘nothing’ – then what could you get excited about?
• If there is something and you need to take some action, what’s the next step for you to take to get closer to making it happen?

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Wishing you an exiciting day!

Warmly,
Jennifer

Yikes! I’ve submitted my story to Wake Up Women

Its gone!  I have emailed the final draft of my story to Wake Up Women for their new book, “Wake UP Women, BE Happy, Healthy & Wealthy.”  Whew - its great to have the story written and off my desk. I know there will be editing changes to come, but most of my work is done – well, except for the marketing! Its exciting to be a step closer to being published. It is a bit of a scary step, and I know I will be pleased with the results.

The book is scheduled to be published in October 2008. I’m told the publishers want to have a mock-up completed by early September so they can take it to the Emmy’s!  There are celebrity authors who have written stories for this book and the Emmy’s provides an opportunity for some of the celebrity authors to be photographed with a copy of the book in their hands.  That will be fun to see.  (I don’t even know, yet, who all of the celebrity authors are.)

My story will be in the “Relationships” section of the book, and I’ll publish a couple of excerpts here in the coming months (once the editing process is complete).  Watch for further information; the cover of the book is to be available in the next few weeks, and I’ll be happy to take pre-orders!

Welcome!

Welcome! This is an exciting start for me. I’ve been thinking about blogging for a while and was recently invited to co-author an upcoming book written by women coaches, which is to be published by Wake Up Women this fall! So I have decided to create a web presence.

Watch this site for more news about me, Jennifer Morgan, and my coaching practice.

Check http://wakeupwomen.com/ for news about the upcoming book, to be published in October 2008.