What’s Your Team’s Apathy Score?

Helping individuals and teams to perform at a higher level is one of the key functions of any leader. It is a skilful and complex thing to achieve. To do so well the leader has to be able to handle several paradoxes.

One of the simplest to understand is the support / challenge paradox.

• Low support and low challenge is likely to result in apathy
• Low support and high challenge is likely to result in anxiety
• Low challenge and high support is likely to result in comfort
• High challenge and high support is likely to result in growth

To be effective support should always precede challenge. In fact the more you support the more you will have permission to challenge. Which quadrant do you think your team is in? Which quadrant do they think they are in? What will you do to change things up?