Chapter 6: Limping to the End Line: How Visionaries, Operators and Processors hobble the success of their group
Summary:
The previous chapter discussed why VOP teams will reach gridlock; the differing motivations, goals and perspectives of the team members. This chapter looks at the process that gridlock takes.
All VOP teams will naturally go through four phases:
Phase 1: Formal Meetings
Phase 2: Informal Communication
Phase 3: Back to Meetings
Phase 4: Gridlock
Once at Phase 4 the VOP team has five options. Four of them occur often and are negative. One occurs rarely and is positive.
The resources for this chapter will look more closely at the four phases and the five options the VOP team has when it reaches gridlock.
Chapter 6 Resources
CARTOON: Formal Meeting Breakdown.. From Dilbert
Can you spot the V, O and P?
Worksheet: Limping to the Finish Line
All VOP teams will naturally go through four phases:
Phase 1: Formal Meetings
Phase 2: Informal Communication
Phase 3: Back to Meetings
Phase 4: Gridlock
Each of the 3 Management Styles will have a different way of viewing these stages with a range of different responses and modes of communication.
This worksheet explores each of these phases in more detail as well as the five options a VOP team has when they reach gridlock.
Activity: Where to from here?
We’ve got to the stage where our team interaction has broken down, we’re in gridlock. We’ve looked at all the options available and none of them look particularly positive. So, where do we go from here?
This activity allows you to bring together your knowledge of the Visionary, Operator and Processor and put down some initial thoughts on what you could do to over come the gridlock.
Case Study: The Perfect Recipe for Gridlock
The New Labour government of 1997 – 2010 presents a model case study of how the extreme characteristics of a Visionary, Operator and a Processor will ultimately lead to gridlock in any team, group or organization. Or in this case a political party and government.
External Resource: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni
Patrick Lencioni has written a series of books which are complimentary to much of the content in both Predictable Success and The Synergist.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is one such book. Whilst The Synergist looks at the root cause behind team dysfunction, the people, Lencioni looks at the symptoms, bad meetings.
This book provides some good examples of dysfunctional team interactions and, once you’ve solved the underlying problem, will provide some tactical suggestions for conducting better meetings.