Many of us have sat in planning sessions in which a facilitator sits down and asks everyone in the room, “What is your North Star?” This question is used to help a company define its guiding purpose. But what happens when people have different versions of what that North Star should be?
On one hand, the founder of a company or organization can “dictate” what it should be, and their team members would have to follow. Yet, on the other hand, what would happen if the team did not want to follow.
I remember leading one of these sessions many years ago, and the founder made clear the direction he wanted to take. ALMOST, everyone in the room nodded their heads and agreed. And then one team member stood on a chair and admittedly disagreed. She went on to say that the founder did not understand how the junior team members felt and how they thought about the work environment and culture.
What I loved the most about this part of the story was the founder turned to me quietly and asked who this team member was and I explained it was a new hire. The founder then told me he really liked her. He admired that someone stood up and challenged him to think differently.
Not every CEO or founder will be open to this discussion and I believe CEOs like this will miss something. Something very important. Employee empowerment, confidence building and willingness to be open to other people’s thoughts.
In the above example, this changed the entire interaction with all the team members. They could see the CEO’s willingness to listen and adjust his thinking based on what he heard. Others started to chime in adding what they thought would build a winning team. This one working session built the foundation for a culture that lasted for many years. Finding your North Star is truly a team endeavor!
