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You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done
Five common problems your team is susceptible to--and the one thing you can do to fix all of themThere are so many ways a team can go wrong. Does your team make decisions so slowly that nothing ever gets done, or does it go too fast and miss critical issues that come back to bite you later? Does your team bicker endlessly or smile and nod while avoiding the tough issues? Too often, team dysfunction leads to abysmal productivity and zero innovation for your organization, as well as misery and wasted time for you. Most team members sit and wait, feeling trapped in a team that just isn't working. "You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done" presents a radical new idea: you can change your team. Author Liane Davey shows how you, from any seat at the table, even without support from your colleagues or your team leader, can transform even a toxic team. It starts with living up to five responsibilities that will change the workings of even the most dysfunctional team.Addresses the five most common ways your team can become toxicGives you a diagnostic to see if your team is at riskDoles out practical suggestions to deal with the crisis in the short-termInstructs you on how to disrupt the patterns that leave you in an endless cycle of dysfunctionReplaces those patterns with positive interactions and even productive conflictGives you the right words to say to change your team for the better--starting todayWritten by Liane Davey, PhD, a highly sought-after consultant and Principal of Knightsbridge Leadership Solutions and the Vice President of Global Solutions and Team EffectivenessDesigned for front line employees, middle managers, executives, or anyone who works regularly in teams, "You First" will help you figure out how to make your team happier, healthier, and more productive.
241 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2013
40 people are currently reading
217 people want to read
About the author
Liane Davey
5 books49 followersLiane Davey is a New York Times Bestselling author of three books, including The Good Fight: Use Productive Conflict to Get Your Team and Your Organization Back on Track and You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done.
Known as the Water Cooler Psychologist, she is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and frequently called on by media outlets for her experience in leadership, team effectiveness, and productivity.
As the co-founder of 3COze Inc., she advises companies such as Amazon, TD Bank, UNICEF, 3M, and SONY.
Liane has a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology.
Known as the Water Cooler Psychologist, she is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and frequently called on by media outlets for her experience in leadership, team effectiveness, and productivity.
As the co-founder of 3COze Inc., she advises companies such as Amazon, TD Bank, UNICEF, 3M, and SONY.
Liane has a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 3, 2020
A great reference book and probably great in concert with fierce conversations.
Gives you an overview of several kinds of poisoned teams and then how to reshape yourself to avoid and ameliorate those conditions.
But it did get bit repetitive and long.
"If you're anxious enough about the risk outside the team, you might now even be aware that you're suppressing your disagreement. But whether you are aware of it or not, the more pressure your team is under from the outside, the more likely you are to stop challenging and start agreeing."
"When you don't need to pay attention to your teammates' projects, you can use your energy on your own to-do list... You forget that your team needs your attention and energy not just on your own work, but on the team's work." >> greater than sum of parts, multiplier effect for teams.
"Although you feel like speed demons during the decision-making process, your Spectator team tends to turn into slowpokes when you start trying to implement a plan. Members of your team have only gotten a superficial sense of the issues and haven't thought through all the implications of the plan."
"If your team is causing conflict outside the team instead of inside, you're losing credibility,too"
"Passive-aggressive behavior flourishes when people can avoid the discomfort of agreeing publicly but still enjoy the benefit of having their opinions heard."
"When a team channels its passion into personal combat, they waste all their energy on fighting the competition inside rather than the competition outside."
"If you're trying to fix an unhealthy team, team-building activities are more likely to make things worse than better."
"When you focus on how everyone else needs to change, you almost never see the importance of changing yourself."
ChangeYourTeam.com - worksheets, community
"You react to a comment based on who it's coming from, not what they're saying."
"It's much harder to wade into conversation when you aren't the expert and you're afraid your opinion might rub people the wrong way...those are the moment when you can add the most value."
"strategic planning is as much about what you're not going to do as what you are going to do."
"The vast majority of workers today will never actually finish their work."
"When two people act like only one of them can be right, they spend most of their time going back and forth - little time going forward."
Gives you an overview of several kinds of poisoned teams and then how to reshape yourself to avoid and ameliorate those conditions.
But it did get bit repetitive and long.
"If you're anxious enough about the risk outside the team, you might now even be aware that you're suppressing your disagreement. But whether you are aware of it or not, the more pressure your team is under from the outside, the more likely you are to stop challenging and start agreeing."
"When you don't need to pay attention to your teammates' projects, you can use your energy on your own to-do list... You forget that your team needs your attention and energy not just on your own work, but on the team's work." >> greater than sum of parts, multiplier effect for teams.
"Although you feel like speed demons during the decision-making process, your Spectator team tends to turn into slowpokes when you start trying to implement a plan. Members of your team have only gotten a superficial sense of the issues and haven't thought through all the implications of the plan."
"If your team is causing conflict outside the team instead of inside, you're losing credibility,too"
"Passive-aggressive behavior flourishes when people can avoid the discomfort of agreeing publicly but still enjoy the benefit of having their opinions heard."
"When a team channels its passion into personal combat, they waste all their energy on fighting the competition inside rather than the competition outside."
"If you're trying to fix an unhealthy team, team-building activities are more likely to make things worse than better."
"When you focus on how everyone else needs to change, you almost never see the importance of changing yourself."
ChangeYourTeam.com - worksheets, community
"You react to a comment based on who it's coming from, not what they're saying."
"It's much harder to wade into conversation when you aren't the expert and you're afraid your opinion might rub people the wrong way...those are the moment when you can add the most value."
"strategic planning is as much about what you're not going to do as what you are going to do."
"The vast majority of workers today will never actually finish their work."
"When two people act like only one of them can be right, they spend most of their time going back and forth - little time going forward."
August 2, 2017
Good read on team dynamics
I especially like the perspective of changing the team from within by starting with yourself. While I didn't find it ground breaking, I would still recommend this book for anyone interested in team dynamics or wanting to learn techniques for changing dysfunctional teams.
I especially like the perspective of changing the team from within by starting with yourself. While I didn't find it ground breaking, I would still recommend this book for anyone interested in team dynamics or wanting to learn techniques for changing dysfunctional teams.
October 11, 2022
Very good summary of the various type of team challenges and practical advice how to work with them.
December 10, 2023
Great advice and a solid primer for those interested in team dynamics.
January 21, 2024
Not so much new..
October 16, 2013
“You First” by Liane Davey brings out the essence of excellence. There are many books on teamwork strategy and technique that offer a single argument. This book is not one of these. Every chapter gives you a different aspect that shows you how to build the dream team you want.
“You First” is not a rehash of existing strategies gone-bad because of stale doctrines and rickety frameworks. What it is, a no-nonsense-nothing-beats-teamwork in getting stuff done. If you’re a project manager or team leader, you already know how important teamwork is. You know that it’s darn near impossible to reach goals and make money, if you’re not a good team leader and your team is not united.
“You First” shows how important collaboration is, and the negative impact to the team when it’s missing. You see that group leaders are challenged with problems such as: Members not liking or trusting each other; Colleagues competing with each other; Backstabbers waiting for you to mess up; Gossipers going silent when you enter a room; and, Teammates throwing each other under the bus.
“You First” will help guide you to change you so you can change your team. The book gives you a more practical and efficient way to drive your team toward high performance. If you’re new to workgroups, the book will help prepare you for survival in the concrete jungle because the craziness is not going away. But at least you’ll know how to deal with it and be a good team leader too.
I highly recommend this read because you’ll always have a constant reminder that cooperation fosters teamwork and leadership. The takeaway, you’ll build a team made up of members who are not afraid to admit mistakes, express weaknesses, and share concerns without fear of reprisal. “You First” ultimately makes you part of the solution in creating a happier, productive workplace!
“You First” is not a rehash of existing strategies gone-bad because of stale doctrines and rickety frameworks. What it is, a no-nonsense-nothing-beats-teamwork in getting stuff done. If you’re a project manager or team leader, you already know how important teamwork is. You know that it’s darn near impossible to reach goals and make money, if you’re not a good team leader and your team is not united.
“You First” shows how important collaboration is, and the negative impact to the team when it’s missing. You see that group leaders are challenged with problems such as: Members not liking or trusting each other; Colleagues competing with each other; Backstabbers waiting for you to mess up; Gossipers going silent when you enter a room; and, Teammates throwing each other under the bus.
“You First” will help guide you to change you so you can change your team. The book gives you a more practical and efficient way to drive your team toward high performance. If you’re new to workgroups, the book will help prepare you for survival in the concrete jungle because the craziness is not going away. But at least you’ll know how to deal with it and be a good team leader too.
I highly recommend this read because you’ll always have a constant reminder that cooperation fosters teamwork and leadership. The takeaway, you’ll build a team made up of members who are not afraid to admit mistakes, express weaknesses, and share concerns without fear of reprisal. “You First” ultimately makes you part of the solution in creating a happier, productive workplace!
December 12, 2013
A very clear and practical read that very much hits you in the gut. Not only does it force you to reflect on yourself as a team member and/or team leader, but it also challenges you to take action and live out critical team member/ leader responsibilities.
January 24, 2015
lots of useful tools
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July 16, 2015Location: GG7 IRC
Accession No: DL027262
Accession No: DL027262
January 19, 2016
A great book going new insights on how to classify teams and their members and thus help to fix them and make them better teams. End result is a better working team that gets stuff done.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews