Quotes from Pat MacMillan

Differences in personal style can impose formidable barriers to communication.

Therefore, we need to choose the right medium for our message, remembering that face-to-face communication is the richest form because we can draw on the resources of words, body language, voice, or even the physical arena itself to deliver our ideas. At the same time, we can receive a constant update on how the audience is receiving our message and can make midcourse corrections if we're going astray.

It's all too easy to hit the "send" button before we've really had the chance to think about the effect on the audience.

When groupthink occurs, the group isolates itself from the outside world and the information it contains.

You don't form teams; you build them.

High performance teams escape the gravitational force of group-think. They develop high levels of trust among team members as well as in their communication processes. Defensive mechanisms are left behind in the pursuit of the most creative and productive courses of action.

Clear communication always leads to conflict, and the clearer the communication the faster we arrive at it. Most people sense this intuitively. When there is the potential for disagreement, they create a gap between how they feel versus what they say. If we see conflict as a negative force to be avoided, and most people do, then we tend to "murk" up the communication.

History is clear that, in most endeavors, success is a product of uncompromising attention to purpose.

This is a critical point, because too often in a team setting we have people who are in the boat but not on the team.

Teammates don't have to be best friends. In fact, the diversity and differences among the individual team members will probably preclude close friendships. However, the relationships must be solid enough to withstand the turbulence of day-to-day interaction, misunderstandings, and an occasional bad day. Solid team relationships provide the climate needed for high levels of cooperation and are characterized by trust, acceptance, respect, understanding, and courtesy.

Trust is the glue in any relationship and is clearly the non-negotiable element of interdependent relationships. We will not be interdependent with those we don't trust. Trust is somewhat like a thermometer, reflecting the current state of a relationship.

If the group has an unhealthy view of conflict or doesn't have the skills or process by which to manage it constructively, they will never attain the realm of synergistic communication and the exceptional levels of performance it supports.

Confused communication and unity of purpose cannot live together.

As a leader, remember that one of the most significant strategies for building the qualities of solid relationships into the relational fabric of the team is for you, the team leader, to model them. Let team members see them in practice.

George Bernard Shaw summed it up well when he observed that the biggest problem with communication is the assumption that it has taken place.

If the organization doesn't invest resources in the development of the team, it will be more difficult to convince the team that their task really is relevant.

If a person does not trust another, they will not be vulnerable and transparent and the possibility of misunderstanding and misinterpretation increases. Low trust situations weaken the connection between what we feel and what we say. Other team members pick up on this lack of trust on their intuitive radar screens, raise their defensive shields, and respond in kind. Trust and communication spiral down together.

In both designing and evaluating processes, these teams would pay particular attention to passing the "process baton." Processes should be designed to facilitate the exchange of the baton, the movement of responsibility from one person to another.

Leadership plays a significant role in creating culture.