Understanding the status and the hierarchy in a group is an important determinant to reducing conflict. And, therefore, effects team performance. Here’s David with more.
Understanding the status and the hierarchy in a group is an important determinant to reducing conflict. And, therefore, effects team performance. There’s an article in the Wall Street Journal (13 February 2023) reporting results of a study that makes this case. And it talks about the importance of the individual skill of understanding what the pecking order or the status hierarchy is, in a group. It makes the point we shouldn’t assume people are good at this. So what we can do as leaders is to make a clear – clear ownership, clear understanding – of who gets to make what decisions with the input from what people helps reduce conflict. And sometimes I see, especially in startups, leaders think – “Oh, no, I’m just going to let people hash it out. It’s going to be sort of like gladiator ring and we’ll see what rises to the top.” Well, people spend a lot of time trying to figure out where they are in the pecking order and what their job is and what the boundaries are rather than actually just doing their job. So making ownership clear is a good leadership skill to allowing empowered and effective teams. I’m David Marquet. That’s your Leadership Nudge.
