The team is a mess, people are angry and pointing fingers, there’s more blame than problem solving, you’re pretty sure no one has complete information, and it seems every effort to make things better is making things worse.
Before you jump in and try to fix this ugliness, consider these two illustrations:
If someone is drowning you toss them something that floats, or reach out with a branch or a rope to pull them to safety. The very last option is to jump in with them. Why? A drowning person flailing and sputtering is panicking. They’re likely to push you under in an attempt to climb out, and kill you in the process. If your only option is to go in, you wait until they’re just past the point of exhaustion so they won’t fight you.
Muddy water doesn’t become clear by stirring it further. You must patiently let it settle out.
Leaders are prone to action, which can in these situations create more problems, especially if you personally jump in and try to solve the problems at the same level where they exist.
