As summer dress codes kick in and fruit stands pop up along our commutes, I found myself dreaming of a watermelon dressed in a tie…..just kidding.
While watermelons remain underdressed, they happen to be everywhere in our work lives if we only take a moment to unearth them.
Hiding in Plain Sight
We know where our own professional watermelons are, namely the projects, initiatives and deliverables which on the surface look green and prosperous, yet if we or anyone else pokes them, bright red is exposed. Try as we might, we hide behind the rind, defending the apparent status quo and our own success.
How often do we fudge a status update by identifying only a small piece which is done, selectively carving out a preferred wedge to take ownership of or by pushing out a deadline? Where do we talk about the bright side, ignoring the lurking struggles?
Why do we do these things? At work, there is a pressure to be right, have “it” all together and outperform our colleagues. We chase the bonus, the promotion and the praise. We cannot appear weak, ill-prepared or incapable….so, we put on a good face and hide all sharp objects as we tout our green watermelons.
Carrying the Heavy Melon
As leaders, how are we to respond to our own tendency to cultivate and attempt to sell ripe watermelons? How do we address this tendency within our teams? Let’s consider each in turn…
To address our own green-tinted view of the world, we should:
Identify what is pressuring us to “go green” and tackle the root of the issue by tracing the vine to its source
Address our own people-pleasing or fear-induced motivations
Commit to accountability and candor
Embrace humility and human fallibility
Avoid lying to ourselves in favor of greater self-awareness
To address this issue with teams:
Lead by example
Take responsibility for creating and sustaining healthy cultural norms
Create psychological safety to learn, try and be imperfect
Establish space for healthy debate and instill a regular practice of “throwing rocks” to test the strength of ideas and plans
Ask thoughtful questions and remain curious
Commit to identifying long-term risks over seeking short-term “wins”
Identify truly effective project management models that prevent “all green, all good” outcomes at review meetings
To the Point
The inclination to pretend our own or our team’s status is green is easy and oh, so tempting; however, the advantages of looking beneath the surface benefits personal integrity, professional development, healthy organizational cultures and prosperous business outcomes.
Go ahead, cut into that watermelon. You will be glad you did.
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