Amnesty for Teams

Last week, we talked about the challenges of managing an inherited team – one populated with people whom you did not hire. When inherited teams carry a lot of baggage from past experiences, it presents a real dilemma for the manager. (See last week’s blog post regarding personal “rights” and “slights.”) Accumulated baggage can get in the way of positive relationships and results. When people are weighed down by it, they are not capable of carrying their full load as members of the team. The skillful manager intervenes, not by enabling people to carry their own baggage or shouldering it for them, but instead by encouraging them to drop it.

Teams with a lot baggage don’t need group therapy. What they need is a fresh start. A provocative strategy for doing this is to declare what I call “amnesty.” It gives people the opportunity to let go of the past and focus their energy on the present. In the literal sense, amnesty is a pardon granted by an appropriate authority to an individual or group of people. Amnesty comes from the Greek word amnēstía which is equivalent to the word ámnēst(os). A cursory translation of ámnēst(os) is “forgetting.” Looking more carefully; however, it really means “not remembering.” I like that because it implies an act of will and self-discipline. In declaring amnesty, a manager chooses not to remember issues, incidents and information that may cast the team or individual team members in a poor light. The manager looks in only one direction, forward, and challenges everyone else to do the same.

In the workplace, declaring amnesty is not a formal act, rather it’s a management strategy for recharging, refocusing and reengaging teams. It has power because it places team members on a level playing field with a fresh opportunity to establish relationships and achieve results. There is the potential for teams to be completely transformed if everyone buys into the principle, offering pardons to one another.

This all sounds good but you’re probably wondering how this amnesty idea can be put into practice. Following are 10 ideas for you to consider:

1. The principle of amnesty is usually best introduced during a time of transition, such as a change in team leadership or company ownership. A transition can also be calendar-driven, such as a new calendar year or fiscal year, or event-driven, such as the introduction of a new performance management system. Times of transition provide ideal opportunities to invite people to let go of the past and start anew.

2. Determine the extent to which accumulated baggage is adversely impacting relationships and results. If it’s not a serious issue, don’t make it one. Instead, concentrate simply on creating an open and judgment free atmosphere. With teams that I’ve managed, I would often say, “There is nothing that we can’t talk about. We may not always agree but we should strive to be 100% honest and 100% respectful with one another in discussing tough issues.” While it’s challenging, adopting these high standards helps keep conversations civil and productive.

3. If your team is tripping over its accumulated baggage, make the choice to air it out. Sometimes just naming a sensitive issue begins to take away its destructive power and can jump start dialogue. For example, the cohesiveness of some teams is impacted because of strong perceptions of favoritism. The manager can say something to the effect of, “It has come to my attention that some members of our team believe that preferential treatment is given to certain people with regard to assignments and workload. I’d like us to openly discuss this with the goal of being more transparent about how decisions like these are made.” This may be a scary prospect to you because you’d be pointing out that there is a “dead moose on the table,” as team facilitators like to say. The only other alternative, however, is to leave the issue alone and let it slowly poison your team dynamics and relationships.

4. Be careful to “call out” the issue, not the people. In other words, place your finger on the issue at hand; don’t point it at people. Focus on the underlying source of tension.

5. Set the example by declaring amnesty. “I’d like us to get a fresh start as a team. One way to do this is for us to agree that some of the feelings, perceptions and judgments we have about each other and how our team functions may be holding us back. I’m letting you all know that starting right now I’m considering this to be a newly constituted team. One of the first things we’re going to do is to review our work obligations and establish a rational process for allocating assignments. Just to be clear, I will be responsible and accountable for making assignments; however, working together I want us to create a more transparent process along with a mechanism to periodically review it.”

6. Apologize for any conscious or unconscious role you may have played with regard to the collection of team baggage. Name any negative feelings you have packed away. This will help make it safe for others to share and take ownership for their baggage.

7. Invite each team member to accept your declaration of amnesty and to personally extend amnesty to others in the group. Emphasize that this is an individual choice and that it has significant consequences. The choice is to either continue to harbor bad feelings about the manager, co-workers, policies, practices, etc., or to let go of them and start fresh.

8. Request that each team member indicate their acceptance/rejection through a verbal affirmation. It is important that these commitments be made publically because it raises the ante for everyone.

9. Bear in mind that commitments are only useful if people are regularly reminded about them and held accountable for keeping them. Accountability needs to come in three forms: accountability to oneself, accountability to co-workers and accountability to the manager.

10. Express a willingness to meet privately with anyone who has a personal issue or concern that they feel uncomfortable airing before the group.

Some people will reject the notion of amnesty because it sounds too ethereal. Others may reject it because they don’t think it’s needed or that it applies to them. These people may wish to hold on to their baggage like a holstered gun. They want to draw it whenever necessary. There are also people who believe they don’t have any baggage and that any underlying tension in the group is someone else’s issue. Those who don’t buy into the principles of amnesty may need coaching, with the result being better integration within the team or eventual separation. Obviously, these are delicate issues and need to be addressed thoughtfully.

If you like this idea of amnesty, I encourage you to work with it and improve upon it. The underlying principle is sound and you will likely find many different ways to express it. Next week I’ll talk about addressing “undiscussables” at work – the thorny issues and concerns that are on everyone’s minds but are kept just below the surface in an effort to keep the peace or maintain power.