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Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams: How You and Your Team Get Unstuck to Get Results
A proven approach for helping leaders and teams work together to achieve better decisions, greater commitment, and stronger results More than ever, effective leadership requires us to work as a team, but many leaders struggle to get the results they need. When stakes are high, you can't get great results by just changing what you do. You also need to change how you think. Organizational psychologist and leadership consultant Roger Schwarz applies his 30+ years of experience working with leadership teams to reveal how leaders can drastically improve results by changing their individual and team mindset. Get the results you and your team need. Start by applying the practical wisdom of Smart Leaders, Smarter Teams.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2013
66 people are currently reading
344 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 2, 2017
The part on “discuss indiscussable issues” could have been clearer; Rest was useful. I read Argyris and Schön before, so I skipped some of the recap.
May 23, 2013
With a focus on the unique challenges of leading a leadership team, this book delves deeply into the natural proclivity leaders have for unilateral control "in which they attempt to make others do what they want them to do." Schwarz explains the deadening effect of this approach on achieving better results and explains the power and benefit of the mutual learning model "in which the team works together to shift its values, assumptions, and behaviors so that leadership is invested in the full team--rather than just a formal leader."
His model focuses on transparency, curiosity, accountability, informed choice, and compassion. In the course of the book you learn how to change from the unilateral control to the mutual learning approach and how to help your team do the same.
The model is challenging to be sure, but the book serves as a strong guide to achieving it.
His model focuses on transparency, curiosity, accountability, informed choice, and compassion. In the course of the book you learn how to change from the unilateral control to the mutual learning approach and how to help your team do the same.
The model is challenging to be sure, but the book serves as a strong guide to achieving it.
December 18, 2019
3.5 stars
Some useful stuff in here and the mutual learning mindset aligns nicely with how I imagine Agile teams should be working together.
There are also practical techniques for how to do some of the behaviours; and how to go about developing a mutual learning mindset as an individual or in a team.
The writing style is quite information-dense and dry. I particularly struggled with the last few chapters.
Some of the ideas/principles were easy to try out immediately, and I really liked some of the definitions (e.g. of accountability).
It's the type of book you probably need to read cover-to-cover once to know how it all fits together, but then will need to have handy to dip into to actually make changes/take action.
Some useful stuff in here and the mutual learning mindset aligns nicely with how I imagine Agile teams should be working together.
There are also practical techniques for how to do some of the behaviours; and how to go about developing a mutual learning mindset as an individual or in a team.
The writing style is quite information-dense and dry. I particularly struggled with the last few chapters.
Some of the ideas/principles were easy to try out immediately, and I really liked some of the definitions (e.g. of accountability).
It's the type of book you probably need to read cover-to-cover once to know how it all fits together, but then will need to have handy to dip into to actually make changes/take action.
September 8, 2021
5 stars for ideas proposed. I love the idea of mutual learning and have had made many changes to my leadership/team style based on ideas from this book. The book itself was very repetitive and took awhile to get to the point. This would be a great book club book for teams who are looking to operate more efficiently! Prompts some good conversations to have with your team regarding team norms and expectations
September 20, 2020
As a 100% practical book on how to install a mutual learning mindset in teams, this book hits the spot. If you need to be inspired by stories of great team or company turn arounds-this probably isn’t for you.
July 27, 2017
Read for a small group theory graduate course and it was also very relevant to my work environment.
November 12, 2019
Book for PILs
January 13, 2024
Helpful read for leaders hoping to change their approach.
June 24, 2017
In this book, Roger Schwarz details ways to be more genuine and have open communication with your teams, to move from a unilateral control mindset (where there is one leader who has all the answers) to a mutual learning mindset (where everyone has something to contribute). There is a lot in this book I found useful as a manager and am hoping to put into practice. I particularly liked Schwarz' emphasis on saying what you mean and meaning what you say. So many leadership books I've read and training I've attended focus on little tips and tricks to get your point across, that usually just stress me out and make me nervous, so it was refreshing to see something focused on just being genuine and transparent. I highly recommend this book to people in leadership positions, especially for those who manage other leaders.
February 21, 2021
Summary:
A good book centred around the core concepts of unilateral control and mutual learning. Unilateral control being described as a less effective strategy and leadership approach as you seek to maintain power and control all aspects of your team. On the other hand, mutual learning is described in the book as the panacea to many of the modern working environment's problems as it promotes a growth mindset and recognises each person in your team as a leader in their own right. Mutual learning and a growth mindset are basically the same concepts, but the comparison to unilateral control is useful as it really rang true for so many leadership behaviours and styles I've observed. It's a bit of a dry book to get through and once both unilateral control and mutual learning have been described, the book gets a bit repetitive as it works through applying it to various aspects of work.
The main message I took from this book is the prevalence of unilateral control behaviours as the norm speaks volumes on how so many of our key organisations run sub-optimally.
Some notable points:
- A unilateral control mindset can be summarised by the following values and assumptions:
Values -
. Be right.
. Win, don't lose.
. Act rational.
. Minimise expressions of negative feelings.
Assumptions -
. I understand the situation; those who disagree don't.
. I am right; those who disagree are wrong.
. I have pure motives; those who disagree have questionable motives.
. My feelings and behaviour are justified.
. I am not contributing to the problem.
- This mindset leads to the following unilateral control behaviours:
. State my views without asking for others' views and vice versa.
. Withhold relevant information.
. Speak in general terms and don't agree on what important words mean.
. Keep my reasoning private; don't ask others about their reasoning.
. Focus on positions, not interests.
. Act on untested assumptions and inferences as if they were true.
. Control the conversation.
. Avoid, ease into, or save face on difficult issues.
- These unilateral behaviours yield the following results:
. Sub-optimal performance through lower-quality decisions, less innovation, longer implementation time and increased costs.
. Poorer working relationships through lower commitment, decreased trust, reduced learning, greater defensiveness, unproductive conflict and inappropriate dependence on others.
. Reduced individual well-being through reduced motivation, decreased satisfaction, limited development opportunities and increased stress.
- A mutual learning mindset can be summarised by the following values and assumptions:
Values -
. Transparency.
. Curiosity.
. Informed choice.
. Accountability.
. Compassion.
Assumptions -
. I have information; so do other people.
. Each of us sees things others don't.
. People may disagree with me and still have pure motives.
. Differences are opportunities for learning.
. I may be contributing to the problem.
- This mindset leads to the following mutual learning behaviours:
. State views and ask genuine questions.
. Share all relevant information.
. Use specific examples and agree on what important words mean.
. Explain reasoning and intent.
. Focus on interests, not positions.
. Test assumptions and inferences.
. Jointly design next steps.
. Discuss undiscussable issues.
- These mutual learning behaviours yield the following results:
. Better performance through higher-quality decisions, greater innovation, shorter implementation time and reduced costs.
. Improved working relationships through greater commitment, increased trust, increased learning, reduced defensiveness, productive conflict and appropriate dependence on others.
. Better individual well-being through increased motivation, increased satisfaction, richer development opportunities and reduced stress.
- If you think you're about to ask a nongenuine question, add 'you idiot' to the end of privately and if it still sounds natural, don't ask it.
- Resolving disagreements over facts can be handled well by jointly designing a way to test a disagreement.
A good book centred around the core concepts of unilateral control and mutual learning. Unilateral control being described as a less effective strategy and leadership approach as you seek to maintain power and control all aspects of your team. On the other hand, mutual learning is described in the book as the panacea to many of the modern working environment's problems as it promotes a growth mindset and recognises each person in your team as a leader in their own right. Mutual learning and a growth mindset are basically the same concepts, but the comparison to unilateral control is useful as it really rang true for so many leadership behaviours and styles I've observed. It's a bit of a dry book to get through and once both unilateral control and mutual learning have been described, the book gets a bit repetitive as it works through applying it to various aspects of work.
The main message I took from this book is the prevalence of unilateral control behaviours as the norm speaks volumes on how so many of our key organisations run sub-optimally.
Some notable points:
- A unilateral control mindset can be summarised by the following values and assumptions:
Values -
. Be right.
. Win, don't lose.
. Act rational.
. Minimise expressions of negative feelings.
Assumptions -
. I understand the situation; those who disagree don't.
. I am right; those who disagree are wrong.
. I have pure motives; those who disagree have questionable motives.
. My feelings and behaviour are justified.
. I am not contributing to the problem.
- This mindset leads to the following unilateral control behaviours:
. State my views without asking for others' views and vice versa.
. Withhold relevant information.
. Speak in general terms and don't agree on what important words mean.
. Keep my reasoning private; don't ask others about their reasoning.
. Focus on positions, not interests.
. Act on untested assumptions and inferences as if they were true.
. Control the conversation.
. Avoid, ease into, or save face on difficult issues.
- These unilateral behaviours yield the following results:
. Sub-optimal performance through lower-quality decisions, less innovation, longer implementation time and increased costs.
. Poorer working relationships through lower commitment, decreased trust, reduced learning, greater defensiveness, unproductive conflict and inappropriate dependence on others.
. Reduced individual well-being through reduced motivation, decreased satisfaction, limited development opportunities and increased stress.
- A mutual learning mindset can be summarised by the following values and assumptions:
Values -
. Transparency.
. Curiosity.
. Informed choice.
. Accountability.
. Compassion.
Assumptions -
. I have information; so do other people.
. Each of us sees things others don't.
. People may disagree with me and still have pure motives.
. Differences are opportunities for learning.
. I may be contributing to the problem.
- This mindset leads to the following mutual learning behaviours:
. State views and ask genuine questions.
. Share all relevant information.
. Use specific examples and agree on what important words mean.
. Explain reasoning and intent.
. Focus on interests, not positions.
. Test assumptions and inferences.
. Jointly design next steps.
. Discuss undiscussable issues.
- These mutual learning behaviours yield the following results:
. Better performance through higher-quality decisions, greater innovation, shorter implementation time and reduced costs.
. Improved working relationships through greater commitment, increased trust, increased learning, reduced defensiveness, productive conflict and appropriate dependence on others.
. Better individual well-being through increased motivation, increased satisfaction, richer development opportunities and reduced stress.
- If you think you're about to ask a nongenuine question, add 'you idiot' to the end of privately and if it still sounds natural, don't ask it.
- Resolving disagreements over facts can be handled well by jointly designing a way to test a disagreement.
November 26, 2013
Schwarz's "Mutual Learning Model" is a recipe for healthy organizations. His work is clear, logical, practical, and backed by research and real-world testing. Highly recommend.
January 15, 2016
Very interesting and logical pointers on how to effectively lead a team.
July 4, 2021
Solid fundamentals on leading teams
Nothing earth shattering here, but if you haven’t got a book on leading teams then this is a strong resource.
Nothing earth shattering here, but if you haven’t got a book on leading teams then this is a strong resource.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews