Power Up: Transforming Organizations Through Shared Leadership

POWER TALK:A HANDS-ON GUIDETO SUPPORTIVECONFRONTATION

When people work together and depend on one another for success as they create shared leadership, disagreements and disputes about task issues or work style are inevitable. As these arise, colleagues, direct reports, and the leader must be prepared to change their views, decisions or behavior. To create a shared leadership system each person—leaders and team members alike—must be willing to state their views fully and be open to the influence of those who disagree with them. In order to make it possible to settle contentious issues, resolve inevitable interpersonal tensions and stimulate continuous learning of personal skills, post-heroic leadership requires a level of openness and honesty rarely found in traditional organizations.

The term supportive confrontation describes the power talk that enables leaders and team members to influence others and to resolve interpersonal disputes. Power talk is potent and direct, not diplomatic or sugar-coated. This Appendix explains supportive confrontation and shows how to use it to address task differences without creating battles for dominance, to make disagreements explicit without increasing defensiveness or resistance, and to raise concerns about colleagues without inflicting personal harm or damaging the relationship.

FOCUS ON BEHAVIOR

The most difficult and potentially divisive ...