Before You Book the Workshop, Ask for 30 Minutes
Understand the problem, and what's needed, before you go looking for a solution.
When a leader asks HR for a team-building day or a workshop, the fastest answer is to book one, and it rarely fixes the problem. Ask for 30 minutes first, and treat that conversation as the start of a partnership with the leader. The first meeting matters, and the follow-up afterward matters even more, because that's where you and the leader build something that fits her team. On November 17 and 18, I'm hosting a free, live masterclass on building a development program that fits your organization, and the details are at the end.
A request on Thursday afternoon
Imagine it's Thursday afternoon, and the VP of Sales sends you a message. Her team just had its worst quarter in two years. Her managers, two of them promoted this year, are blaming each other in front of their teams, and she wants a ropes course at next month's offsite. You could find a vendor and book the date by Friday. Her team would probably have a good day, and on Monday the same problems would still be there.
Instead, you might write back: "Happy to help with the offsite. Before I book anything, can we find 30 minutes this week so I understand what's going on with the team?"
What a ropes course can and can't do
I always tell people that ropes courses and trust falls are great for camaraderie and make a fun day out for a team. Just don't expect them to build leadership or teamwork that lasts. They can even backfire. The colleague who can't do the physical part ends up on the sidelines, someone gets embarrassed in front of the people they work with every day, and whatever was frustrating the team before the day is still there on Monday.
Booking it anyway can cost you with the leader, too. When the day doesn't fix anything, her team rolls its eyes at the next idea from HR, and she's less likely to call you first when the next problem comes up. I've seen my share of these days, and the same problems come back the following month.
How to run the 30 minutes
How you approach the conversation decides what you'll learn. A leader in her position may be embarrassed, and some of the trouble may trace back to her. If the conversation feels like an investigation, she'll shut down or give you a tidier version of what happened.
So go in as her partner. Think of yourself as an extension of her arms, helping her wrap her hands around this problem. Ask what she's noticed and when it started, what she's already tried, and what a good quarter from this team would look like. Then ask whether you can talk with a few people on the team, because they'll see parts of the problem she can't, and some of what she tells you may not match what they see. Talk with each of the two managers on their own, and with two or three people who report to them. Tell everyone up front that you'll share themes with her, not names.
Stop the bleeding while you build
Some problems can't wait for a program. If her managers are blaming each other in front of their teams, a facilitated conversation in the next week or two may do more good than anything else. You or a neutral facilitator can bring her and the two managers together to agree on how they'll handle disagreements away from their teams, and you can help her prepare for it. Calming the team down this way gives you a few weeks to design the longer-term work.
Start small, and fit it to the team
There are a lot of good programs off the shelf, and most are written for organizations in general, across every size, industry, and culture. Whichever one you use, shape it around what this team needs. Start with her team before anyone talks about a company-wide rollout, so you can see what works and what doesn't and adjust it. Starting small also keeps the commitment manageable for an HR team with a full calendar.
The follow-up is where the partnership happens
The 30 minutes is only the start. In that first conversation, agree with her on two or three signs you'll both watch, like the managers settling disagreements in private or fewer complaints reaching her desk. Then put a check-in on the calendar every couple of weeks. Ask what she's seen, tell her what you're hearing from the team, and change the plan when something isn't working. When her team's results start to move, she's the one who'll tell the other leaders how it happened.
Two managers promoted this year and struggling is one of the patterns we look at in the masterclass, and you'll work on a program that fits your own organization. Save your seat here.
Join us on November 17 and 18
Your In-House Advantage is a free, live masterclass for internal HR, L&D, and OD leaders at organizations of 250 to 5,000 or more employees. It's two 90-minute working sessions, on Tuesday, November 17, and Wednesday, November 18, at 1:00 pm ET (10:00 am PT). In the first, we look at the patterns organizations fall into with new managers and what those patterns cost. In the second, you work on a solution for your own organization and leave with a one-page business case for your CFO.
It's live only, with no replay, and seats are limited. Nothing is sold in session one. In the last few minutes of session two, I'll explain how Symphony 100 works with organizations that want help.
Save my seat for November 17 and 18
Requests for a workshop or a team-building day tend to arrive with a deadline attached. If a leader asks you for one this week, ask for 30 minutes first, and put a follow-up on both your calendars before you leave the room.
Frank November is the Founder & CEO of Symphony 100 and has been an Everything DiSC® Certified Practitioner since 2014. Symphony 100 Ltd. and Symphony 100 North America LLC are each independent, authorized partners of Everything DiSC® and The Five Behaviors®, which are registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., or its affiliated companies.
