Acknowledging and agreeing get used as if they mean the same thing. Acknowledging is about a situation: that could be true, let's check. Agreeing is about who you are: we're the behind team. This Sidebar takes one idea from Tuesday's conversation with Nicole Morris (she/her), that the first move when the label lands is to acknowledge it, and follows it all the way in.

Why "is it fair?" is the wrong argument while nobody checks whether it's true. Why the team busy proving it isn't behind has stopped checking whether it is. Why defensiveness is a rational move when admitting something sounds like a verdict. Why the Strong One is the leader least able to separate the two words. And why a team that's always behind is usually telling you something about its leadership.

And three things to do before you get back to work, none of which cost money or need permission: say "that could be true, let me check" out loud in the room, write down what you're checking, and turn one flat status statement into a question.

The full conversation with Nicole Morris, "What Are You Carrying Into It?": https://thelaggingteam.com/podcast/0015-what-are-you-carrying-into-it

Nicole Morris (she/her): Founder, Labels Be Gone™ · Author, It's Not Me, It's You: Take Their Labels Off · Host, The Permission Slip. https://permissionfromwho.com

Talk about your team: https://thelaggingteam.com/start?episode=0016-admitting-it-isnt-agreeing-with-it&utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=admitting-it-isnt-agreeing-with-it