Five common problems your team is susceptible to—and the one thing you can do to fix all of them There 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 toxic Gives you a diagnostic to see if your team is at risk Doles out practical suggestions to deal with the crisis in the short-term Instructs you on how to disrupt the patterns that leave you in an endless cycle of dysfunction Replaces those patterns with positive interactions and even productive conflict Gives you the right words to say to change your team for the better—starting today Written by Liane Davey, PhD, a highly sought-after consultant and Principal of Knightsbridge Leadership Solutions and the Vice President of Global Solutions and Team Effectiveness Designed 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.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Change Yourself, Change Your Team 1 The Great Promise of Teams 3 The Sad Reality of Teams 4 Teams Are Here to Stay 4 What I’ve Learned about Fixing Teams 5 There’s One Catch 7 The Road Ahead 8 Change Your Team 10 Chapter 2 Toxic Teams 13 How Sick Is Your Team? 19 Coping 20 Chapter 3 The Crisis Junkie Team 23 The Value of Crisis 27 Origins of a Crisis Junkie Problem 28 Impact of Being a Crisis Junkie Team 30 Diagnostic 33 Triage and Emergency Medicine 34 Chapter 4 The Bobble Head Team 39 The Desire for Harmony 44 Origins of a Bobble Head Problem 45 Impact of Being a Bobble Head Team 47 Diagnostic 49 Triage and Emergency Medicine 49 Chapter 5 The Spectator Team 55 Overload 59 Origins of a Spectator Team 60 Impact of Being a Spectator Team 62 Diagnostic 63 Triage and Emergency Medicine 64 Chapter 6 The Bleeding Back Team 69 Civility 73 Origins of a Bleeding Back Team 74 Impact of Being a Bleeding Back Team 76 Diagnostic 79 Triage and Emergency Medicine 79 Chapter 7 The Royal Rumble Team 85 Engagement 89 Origins of a Royal Rumble Team 90 Impact of Being a Royal Rumble Team 92 Diagnostic 94 Triage and Emergency Medicine 94 Chapter 8 The You in Team 101 Team Building 103 It’s about You 106 Your Responsibilities 107 Chapter 9 Start with a Positive Assumption 111 It’s Over before It’s Begun 113 Start with a Positive Assumption 119 Competence, Reliability, and Integrity of Your Teammates 126 Health Check: Are You Starting with a Positive Assumption? 128 Chapter 10 Add Your Full Value 131 Pale Imitations 134 Add Your Full Value 138 A Word about Vulnerability 145 Adding the Wrong Value 148 Health Check: Are You Adding Your Full Value? 149 Chapter 11 Amplify Other Voices 153 The Need for Speed 156 Drowning Out Minority Voices—The Power and the Peril of the Majority 157 The Importance of Diversity 159 Amplify Other Voices 162 What Is Diverse? 168 Health Check: Are You Amplifying Other Voices? 169 Chapter 12 Know When to Say “No” 173 Spread Too Thin 176 Know When to Say “No” 181 How to Say “No” 187 Help! It Didn’t Work 189 Times to Say “Yes” 190 Health Check: Do You Know When to Say “No?” 191 Chapter 13 Embrace Productive Conflict 193 We Stink at Conflict 197 Why We Don’t Fight the Good Fight 198 Embrace Productive Conflict 201 The Path Forward 203 Health Check: Are You Embracing Productive Conflict? 211 Chapter 14 You First 215 Notes 223 Acknowledgments 225 About the Author 227 About Knightsbridge 228 Index 229