Unlock

STEPHAN F 27/07/2021

Rob Pyne has written a timely and powerful book, 'Unlock', about getting the best out of leadership teams. This topic is never more relevant, when thinking about the distance created from COVID, and the steady movement towards collaborative teams excelling, in place of single leaders. 'Unlock' contains a lot of information about how to effectivize a leadership team. It includes strategies, guidelines, case studies, anecdotes and practical organisers to help facilitate meaningful change. I most enjoyed the practical aspects such as using change cards, conducting a pre-mortem, how to manage destructive behaviours (and loud voices), fun ways to foster creative thinking, as a few examples. The Diamond thinking approach describes a structure and process for how to move teams forwards who are on opposing sides of a change - this helps both explain and provide a solution for an all-too common problem, where a meeting involves disparate but valuable positions, and the potential for an excellent strategy, or wasted time through disagreement. The book is very easy to read and written in simple yet professional language. The book can be read in sequence, but also works as a comprehensive reference guide. It refers to a wealth of research on team work, change management, leadership, and more. 'Unlock' is both a rewarding, insightful read, and also a reference guide, for leadership teams that want to elevate their organisation through self-improvement. I highly recommend this resource for facilitators, coaches, leadership team members, and aspiring leaders.