As individuals and groups learn to work together leaders seeking to build a team culture often have to strike a balance between when to push in and when to pull back. In "Why Leadership Teams Fail," Keil and Zangrillo point out that leadership teams can run into problems when they sacrifice vigorous dialogue for a facade of harmony (petting zoos) or when decisions are made through power struggles rather than open discussions (shark tanks). Certainly, every leader knows that you can't be 'supersensitive' and lead, but (equally true) an environment that overvalues competition and undervalues collaboration will inevitably undermine the significant results that can be achieved through collective expertise. Leaders seeking to establish healthy teams and team environments should have a common playbook - a single source of truth about how team members are to engage with one another. This playbook operates as a common score and a singular conductor, articulating vision, behavioral norms, roles and responsibilities and clear priorities for collaboration efforts. By providing such guardrails leaders cultivate an environment where individuals can share differing perspectives towards win/win solutions and avoid disputes that pit individuals and groups against one another, devolving into win/lose scenarios. #LeadWithCulture
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