Saying goodbye to colleagues who move or get fired (‘adjourning’ in Bruce Tuckman’s growth development of teams). Saying ‘STOP’ to a project that doesn’t fulfill our expectations. Deviating from our existing strategy in which we expended so much time and energy with people around the table.
That can be done in a better way in our departments and organisations.
In my role as consultant, I often emphasise that red flags are as important as green flags:
- Where will we be focussing on the coming reference period as an organisation? What are not our strategic goals?
- What are roles that our department is not yet picking up?
- What are future activities which are not in line with our mission?
- Based on our core values, what is specific desired and undesired behaviour?
- What do I not find essential for a good cooperation with my colleagues?
To say ‘NO’ in a healthy, normalising way, gives more energy and inspiration to fully say ‘YES’ to projects and interactions that do matter.
