The ghosts that may be haunting your team
Do you love YOUR Yuletide Spirits?
And no, we don’t mean those in your Christmas party cocktails.
Christmas has long been associated with ghosts. Just think of Scrooge, Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present & Future. However, there are other kinds of spirits associated with this time of year. Who can forget the angels, who visited the shepherds as they watched over their flocks by night.
Whether deemed good or bad, these ghosts and spirits had wisdom to share, an important message they wanted the incumbent to listen to. In the case of Scrooge, it was a warning from history about charity and for the shepherds it was, of course, tidings of great comfort and joy.
So perhaps Christmas is now the perfect time to face the ghosts and spirits circling around our own relationships and systems and reflect on the messages that they want to communicate to us.
In ORSC Systemic Team Coaching, we define “ghosts” as anything outside of the current team or system that continues to have an impact. This can be a person or an event that leaves a presence and affects the emotional field and is often experienced but not talked about. It can be a team tradition or legacy that continues even without the physical presence of its creator or it could be a decision that leaves a heavy sadness. Whether an eerie presence or a friendly spirit – it is present in the system and, in the case of some hauntings, prevent it functioning efficiently. Certain ghosts can keep a team stuck in old habits, patterns or beliefs and can squash creativity, slowing down progress and creating an unhappy team vibe.
When working with a senior leadership team recently, the previous MD kept coming up in conversation and it became apparent that their presence was still being felt. I asked the team to de-personalise the problems and name the traits that were still haunting the system. Severe redundancies had left them with sizeable ghosts of disappointment, threat and fragility. It was clear these ghosts were encouraging turf protection and general mistrust. Left unattended these ghosts could cause havoc. In fact they were already hampering the integration of new processes. So we set about “Ghostbusting”!
In Team Coaching, we surface ghosts and spirits that haunt the team, manifesting themselves in habits and behaviours. We work to extract their wisdom, decide how best to lay them to rest or perhaps even keep them as positive relationship allies. In this case, the team established new agreements to re-align to their strong company values and created habits that laid these particular ghosts to rest.
So as Yuletide approaches, you may wish to reflect on the ghosts and spirits residing in your team or company and either set out to “bust” them in the New Year or, if you are blessed with more kind-hearted spirits, enjoy the messages they reveal. Cocktails included!
Whichever you choose, The MU team wishes you a magical Christmas and a very Happy New Year.
