How do you behave in a group?

Working with teams and individuals puts me in a privileged position to observe the positive and negative behaviours that stop us from reaching our goals.

A wonderful pre retiree spoke up loudly in the middle of a team offsite I was facilitating recently and said….

“I’ve just realised I’m a pain in the backside in a group. I have spent my whole career derailing the team process.”

We all laughed.

Truth be told, he had spent his career being difficult and behaving in a way that was quite contrary to the vision and values he held for himself.

It got me thinking about how many times I have heard people say things like…

“I like him one on one but in the team he’s so difficult.”

“She is completely different when other people are watching”

I think we all need to ask ourselves these questions every day:

  • Does the way I behave in a team or group serve me well ?
  • Does the way I behave in a team or group serve the team well?

As the new ways of working require us to be participants in many teams with varying roles and levels of responsibility these questions are more important than ever.