Tensions are high. You've got to make a call.
What if leading in this situation were easier?
Picture this: You're in a critical team meeting where you have to make a final call on what to include and what to cut in your upcoming professional development plan. Tensions are rising. As the leader, you must navigate the discussion with emotional intelligence, ensuring everyone feels heard while keeping the team's goals in focus... all while trying to show up authentically yourself.
What do you do?
Moments like these bring me back to a singular resource:
David Noble and Carol Kauffman's book, "Real-Time Leadership: Find Your Winning Moves When the Stakes are High." Why? Because their protocol for slowing down, preparing for, and making real-time decisions is that good. Their MOVE Framework teaches us to:
(M) Be mindfully alert
(O) Generate options
(V) Validate our vantage point
(E) Engage and effect change
Here's the wisdom they offer on how to begin finding your MOVE in a moment like this:
Be mindfully alert to the three dimensions at play in any given moment:
Clarify your external goal: What specifically have you been charged to do in this moment?
Ground in our internally-driven vision: Who do we want to be right now? More specifically, which values do we want to embody? What qualities or character do we want to lead with?
Build interpersonal connection to those you're leading: How can you relate best to others or be the leader they need as you move forward?
Let's go back to that moment in the team meeting... perhaps this might lead you to:
Begin the meeting with transparency. Preview the goal of making a call and acknowledge that it won't be driven by consensus. You may share a commitment to how you'll respond and leverage differing ideas as you move forward. You'll lead aligned to your values of transparency and belief in your team: charging them to commit to a decision they may not have favored. Before you leave the room, you'll make the final call and share how you got there.
Want to learn more of the MOVEs to leading when the stakes are high?
I lead group coaching experiences for leaders and teams on this protocol, specifically when we're discussing strategic decision-making. To learn more about how group coaching on topics like strategic decision-making could benefit you and your team, hit reply and share, "I'm ready to MOVE into something new." From there, we'll set up time to discuss how coaching can catalyze your teams' impact.
Want to check out Noble and Kauffman's book? Look no further!
