If you are an owner/operator of a company that plans meetings and events, it would suggest you are a great problem-solver. In fact, most senior professionals would check that box off. But what about the problems that don’t go away—the chronic, more complex issues that inevitably plague us?
Leadership Development and Team Building Expert, Tim Arnold, spoke at last week’s CanSPEP Day, (The Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners, an association of independent event planner entrepreneurs), exploring the subject of his new book, The Power of Healthy Tension. Often leaders and teams have a clear vision, he says, but fail to live it out. They get stuck because of conflicting values, division within the team, and resistance to change. If you can learn to manage these myriad tensions as well as you solve problems, Tim contends, it will really stand out—taking your leadership and achievements to a whole new level.
He shared with us a four-step plan to handle tensions, unite your team, spark change, and get unstuck. Here are just ten of the common leadership and organizational tensions to be managed in the workplace:
- Care for my part of the organization and Care for the whole organization
- Focus on the short term and Focus on the long term
- Give freedom and Hold accountable
- Task focused and Relationship oriented
- Mission and Margin
- Directive and Participative
- Recognize the individual and Recognize the team
- Preserve Tradition and stability and Stimulate innovation & change
- Planning and Execution
- Logic and Gut-feeling
Bonus: You can also apply these skills at home!