Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams: How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results

Book description

A proven approach for helping leaders and teams work together to achieve better decisions, greater commitment, and stronger results

More than ever, effective leadership requires us to work as a team, but many leaders struggle to get the results they need. When stakes are high, you can't get great results by just changing what you do. You also need to change how you think. Organizational psychologist and leadership consultant Roger Schwarz applies his 30+ years of experience working with leadership teams to reveal how leaders can drastically improve results by changing their individual and team mindset.

  • Provides practical guidance to help teams increase decision quality, decrease implementation time, foster innovation, get commitment, reduce costs and increase trust

  • Outlines 5 core values leadership teams can adopt to exponentially improve results

  • Author of The Skilled Facilitator and The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook

Get the results you and your team need. Start by applying the practical wisdom of Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams
  3. Title page
  4. Copyright page
  5. Dedication
  6. Preface
    1. Who This Book Is For
    2. Overview of the Book
    3. Background
  7. CHAPTER 1: How Well Does Your Team Really Work?
    1. “One Leader in the Room”?
    2. Stuck in Unilateral Control: An Example
    3. Why Leaders Stay Stuck
    4. Changing an Unproductive Mindset
    5. Mindset Is Key to Changing How You Lead
    6. Mind the Gap
  8. CHAPTER 2: How You and Your Team Get Stuck: The Unilateral Control Approach
    1. Why Unilateral Control Gets Results You’re Trying to Avoid
    2. Recognizing the Unilateral Control Mindset in Yourself
    3. How Unilateral Control Reinforces Itself
    4. Do You Have a Choice?
  9. CHAPTER 3: Getting Unstuck to Get Results: The Mutual Learning Approach
    1. Values of the Mutual Learning Mindset
    2. Assumptions of the Mutual Learning Mindset
    3. Mutual Learning Behaviors
    4. Results of Mutual Learning
    5. How Mutual Learning Reinforces Itself
    6. Is Unilateral Control Still an Option?
    7. Extending Mutual Learning to the Whole Team
  10. CHAPTER 4: Getting the Puzzle Pieces on the Table: Mutual Learning Behaviors 1–4
    1. Behavior 1: State Views and Ask Genuine Questions
    2. Behavior 2: Share All Relevant Information
    3. Behavior 3: Use Specific Examples and Agree on What Important Words Mean
    4. Behavior 4: Explain Reasoning and Intent
    5. Half-Way There
  11. CHAPTER 5: Putting the Puzzle Together: Mutual Learning Behaviors 5–8
    1. Behavior 5: Focus on Interests, Not Positions
    2. Behavior 6: Test Assumptions and Inferences
    3. Behavior 7: Jointly Design Next Steps
    4. Behavior 8: Discuss Undiscussable Issues
    5. A Summary of Behaviors
  12. CHAPTER 6: Designing for Mutual Learning
    1. Watch Your Mindset as You Design
    2. The Big Picture: Structure, Process, and Context
    3. Is Your Team a Real Team?
    4. Team Structure
    5. Team Process
    6. Team Context
    7. Stay Congruent
  13. CHAPTER 7: Dealing With Common Team Challenges
    1. Preparing for Meetings
    2. During Meetings
    3. Giving Feedback
    4. Working as a Team When You’re Not Together
    5. Using Mutual Learning in E-Mail
    6. A Qualification to “Speaking with One Voice” as a Team
    7. Helping Your Team Influence You
  14. CHAPTER 8: Becoming a Smarter Leader
    1. Beginning the Journey
    2. Talk with Your Team About What You Are Doing
    3. Continuing Your Personal Progress
  15. CHAPTER 9: Becoming a Smarter Team
    1. Beginning the Team Journey
    2. Digging Deeper
    3. Joint Planning
    4. Be Clear About the Decision-Making Rule
    5. Be the Change . . .
  16. Acknowledgments
  17. About the Author
  18. Index
  19. About Roger Schwarz & Associates
    1. Introducing the Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams Keynote
    2. More about Roger Schwarz & Associates’ Work with Clients

Product information

  • Title: Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams: How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results
  • Author(s): Roger M. Schwarz
  • Release date: March 2013
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9780787988739