Avoidance is an extremely common response to strategic initiatives that makes executives put off critical issues.
Roger Lehman from INSEAD and John Young from RedElephant Technology state that to overcome it, you might start looking out for some crucial signs.
The first step is to recognise when avoidance is happening. Avoidance is an almost imperceptible pressure and it is often completely outside of our awareness.
But asking key questions can help us to identify its presence:
- Are things getting done in your group through heroics and fire-fighting?
- Do you get the feeling that you and your team are “dancing around something” or “walking on eggshells”? Do you experience this feeling when interacting with your managers?
- Do you find yourself becoming agitated, frustrated or easily upset? Are members of your team becoming agitated, frustrated or easily upset? Are you seeing this behaviour in your managers?
- Do you feel you are working towards unrealistic expectations or being exposed to ungrounded thinking?
- Are blame and/or cynicism becoming more prevalent in your team? Are factions developing in your team?
