The costs of artificial harmony

The meetings can be uncomfortable
Elephant issues go unresolved
Frustrations grow deeper
Departments get involved

Lack of trust and clarity
Unclear decision rights
Have left teams politicking
Ripe for heady fights

It’s not completely broken
A lot is going right
It’s the opportunity costs
Of what’s happening despite

Until true cohesion is built
Through self-awareness and more
Passive aggressive and rooted behaviors
Will infect the core

Some leadership teams won’t recognize
Underlying problems at all
For they’ve operated this way
Since the first board member install

With the amount of time wasted,
Executives’ time is pricey,
It’s an operational efficiency nightmare –
Circling the same issues proves dicey

To stop “meetings after the meeting”
Requires intention
Including tackling the awkward –
At its first mention

Learning to understand how humans
Bring their emotional selves to work
Leaders benefit from new approaches
As they identify that first smirk

Emotional agility through change
Requires continuous healthy debate
Setting expectations,
Confronting issues head-on, straight.

Uncomfortable at times,
It’s a new skill for many
Debating issues, not people,
Requiring practice, curiosity aplenty

The costs of artificial harmony
Are stagnation and distress,
Financial waste, and
3:00 a.m. awakenings from stress

CEOs look to budget items
Knowing they need savings, it’s true,
When often learning new skills
Could raise scorecards too

If you have the chance to elevate
Cohesion, clarity, and success,
And move away from artificial harmony,
Would you bravely address?

Engagement, projects, and even net income
Are what’s at stake
Moving toward organizational health
Is a decision only you can make