The Perception Gap: Leader vs. Team Members

Kat Boogaard has written an interesting post for the Atlassian blog titled, "Attention leaders: there’s something your team isn’t telling you."  She explains the findings from some of the firm's research on leaders and their teams.   In particular, she focuses on the perception gap between the leader and his or her team members.  Here's an excerpt that summarizes the research findings:

Source: needpix.com

When we asked managers to rate their agreement with statements about their team’s health, they consistently agreed at a higher rate than their individual contributors. For instance:

• 37 percent of managers said their team had quick and easy access to information, but only 20 percent of their individual contributors agreed.
• 45 percent of managers said they receive honest feedback, but just 26 percent of individual contributors felt they like could give that honest feedback.

This inflated view is even worse in the C-suite. C-level executives are two times as likely to say that their team is high performing or has high well-being, while their individual contributors view those aspects as well below average.

How can leaders close this perception gap?  Boogaard has some good recommendations. For instance, she advocates getting out of your office to put your finger on the pulse of the organization, rather than waiting for people to come to you with problems or concerns.   Similarly, she focuses on the importance of promoting psychological safety within your team.   I would add one other important tip for closing this perception gap.  Find a truth teller on your team.   Find a sounding board, or consigliere if you are a fan of the Godfather movies.  Talk to them one-on-one, and use those private conversations to get a sense of whether team members are seeing things the way that you are.  Kathy Eisenhardt's research shows that effective leaders in high-growth firms operating in turbulent environments often have these confidantes who help them in numerous ways as they make tough decisions.  However, the key is to find a truth teller, not a yes-man or yes-woman.  Make sure it's someone who will give it to you straight.