How to Confront Your Team Effectively

summary

Branden Sewell discusses the importance of positive confrontation in leadership, emphasizing how timely and respectful feedback can foster growth and improve team dynamics. Drawing from a daily devotional and leadership principles, he shares practical guidelines for confronting effectively.


 keywords

leadership, confrontation, team management, personal growth, leadership tips, John Maxwell, communication, business leadership, employee development


 key  topics

The importance of timely confrontation
Guidelines for positive confrontation
Balancing leadership and team management
Overcoming fear of confrontation
The impact of clear communication


 takeaways

Confront as soon as possible to prevent issues from escalating.
Address the action, not the person, to maintain respect.
Be specific and avoid words like always or never.
Confront with the other person's best interests at heart.

Titles

The Power of Positive Confrontation in Leadership
How to Confront Your Team Effectively


 sound bites

"Confrontation can be a win-win situation."
"It's better to address it before it gets worse."
"To be unclear is to be unkind."


Chapters

00:00 Introduction and personal update
01:29 The significance of confrontation in leadership
02:28 Ten guidelines for positive confrontation
03:26 Why confrontation shows you care
04:22 Balancing leadership and team management
05:45 The dangers of delaying confrontation
06:14 The benefits of addressing issues early
07:08 Closing remarks and resources

 resources

Leadership Promises for Every Day by John Maxwell - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Leadership+Promises+for+Every+Day+by+John+Maxwell

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Transcript

Branden Sewell (00:01.026)
Hi everybody, my name is Brandon Sewell. I am the owner of Seal Pro Painting and the host of the Off the Ladder Podcast. And we exist to help home service business owners learn so that they can lead well and ultimately live life off of the ladder. Hey guys, just wanted to say thank you for being patient with me. I have been out for let's see the last like week and a half or so. I was

I was actually running a surf camp for my church. so we had 75 kids out on the beach and we were doing surf camp, teaching them how to surf. So I was tied up with that and just really busy. So I had to take a break from the podcast and recording so that I could focus my attention on that. That's over with. so now jumping back into these daily episodes.

If you guys haven't already, go back and listen to Wednesday's episode with Anthony Timmerman talking about branding and vehicle reps and just the the power of that. If that's something that you're considering doing or have done, or maybe you're thinking about rebranding, that's a really great episode that you can learn from. So definitely go check that out.

so we're gonna jump back into these daily episodes. I've been reading from Leadership Promises for Every Day by John Maxwell, and just reading over the daily devotional and then discussing it with you. so today the title is Care Enough to Confront. And the scripture is 2nd Samuel 12:7. It says, Then Nathan said to David, You are

The man. John Maxwell goes on to write: Many people avoid confrontation. Some fear being disliked and rejected. Others are afraid confrontation will make things worse by creating anger and resentment in the person they confront. But avoiding confrontation always worsens the situation. Confrontation can be a win-win situation. A chance to help.

Branden Sewell (02:28.927)
And develop your people. If you do it with respect and with the other person's best interest at heart, here are ten guidelines to help you confront positively. One, confront as soon as possible. Two, address the wrong action, not the person. Three, confront only what the person can change.

Give the person the benefit of the doubt. Five, be specific. Six. Avoid sarcasm. Seven, avoid words like always and never. Eight, if appropriate, tell the person how you feel about what was done wrong. Nine. Give the person a game plan to fix the problem. Ten. Affirm him or her as a person and a friend.

Positive confrontation is a sure sign that you care for a person and have their best interests at heart. Each time you build up your people and identify their problems, you give them an opportunity to grow. This is really good. This is probably one of the most challenging things I think for leaders to learn and to implement.

so many of us are entrepreneurs and there's a lot of things that we're really great at. you know, we may be really good at sales or really good at marketing or you know, all of those little, you know, skills and talents of growing and running a business. And then when it comes to the people, man, that's a whole nother challenge. And then I think for me, why this has big been one of the biggest challenges for me as a leader is

I'm constantly thinking of this like balance between, hey, I have these customers that I have to get jobs done for, and I have these employees that are doing that work, and I need them to do the work. So I don't want to make them mad or upset when they are doing this work. So it's like this weird balance and dichotomy of.

Branden Sewell (04:49.997)
Trying to confront and lead well with your team, but also make sure that you're not putting yourself in a position where you aren't able to deliver on what you promised to your customers. And, you know, I will say this. I think that really smart employees, and you know, I guess that's gonna be the best word, smart.

they may realize that and take advantage of it. They they may take advantage of the reality that you need them to get these jobs done and completed. And so they kind of you know they'll they'll kind of push the boundaries and and things like that. And you know something that I've realized is that when I've I when I fear confrontation, it delays

the problem and it intensifies it, magnifies it, make it makes it bigger until it comes to a point where it has to be addressed. Like it's like there's no avoiding it at a certain point. You just it's like you have to confront it. And so what I would say is it's better to try to address it before it gets to that point. But once it does, here's what I've discovered.

Is that it's not as bad as I think it's going to be. And it usually turns out for the better or for the good of my organization rather than for the worse. So I would say, one of the most important things on here that it says is confront as soon as possible. don't delay it. Just just get after it. You know, you can be kind in the process. I know Dave Ramsey says,

To be unclear is to be unkind. And when you are clear, it's kind. So help people address those issues and confront them soon. I hope this leadership is helpful for you today and that you gained something from it. If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with somebody else so that they can get something from it. And as always, if you need any resources for your business, check the show notes below.

Branden Sewell (07:08.87)
and if you do use any of those resources, please use my affiliate link. I do get credit for that. And I look forward to talking with you guys on the next episode of the Off the Ladder Podcast.