230: How to Get Teams to Stop Fighting, with Bonni Stachowiak

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed

Bonni is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*.

Audio Question from Ian

• The Way to Lead After a Workplace Loss, with Andrew Stenhouse (episode 142)

Audio Question from Nigel Question from Jennifer

My company has two marketing departments. One is customer marketing which is more account focus and supports specific account managers. Account managers love them because they are their right hands. The other marketing department is consumer/brand marketing where I am in. We set corporate programs and brand strategies. I find myself constantly having to remind the sales team that we work for the same company with the same goal in mind. Some of them can be very critical about the new products and programs we developed because they are not tailored made for their specific accounts. Lately, some of them have been complaining about the new product launch timing.

I am struggling with the situation because I want to support them as much as I can, but I cannot give them everything they want all the time. I read the below. Do you have any additional suggestions/actions I can take?

I want to join them on sales calls to experience 1st hand what they are experiencing. I created a marketing pitch that I believe the buyers will like to hear and the sales team may not be able to articulate. I want to add value to the call. I thought they will be excited. I was wrong. None of them seems to like the idea. I really don’t know what to do about it at this point.

• Ending the War Between Sales and Marketing by Philip Kotler, Neil Rackham, and Suj Krishnaswamy
• 5 Ways to Stop Teams From Fighting

Question from Steve

The book Flow which I read about two months ago was a great read, Mihaly describes the book as the first one written on the topic of flow specifically tailored for a wider audience as opposed to scholars of flow. I found it tough reading at times but having been introduced to the concept prior to reading the book, flow itself is an unmistakable feeling to experience and something that I get a lot of through writing which would deeply shock my high school English teachers today. I’ve often wondered if there is a lack of flow within business and job roles which leads to inefficiency and problems with micromanagement being one of these and then the constant disruption of phone, email, personal devices etc, what do you think?

• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World* by Cal Newport

Question from Hanan

I am Hanan, from Saudi Arabia. I’ve been listening to your episodes and very curios to see more from you in future.

I really appreciate the efforts and amazing thoughts and resources that you deliver. I admire you, and I have learned a lot from these episodes. So thank you very much.

I have a question. I’ve grown in a place where men and women are separated in almost all life aspects (like family gathering, schooling, university, and sometimes work). But, there has been considerable change in the country towards allowing women to work where she wants, this is at the policy level.

At the practice level, I think we “women”, still need a lot of skills and qualities to be able to work in environment dominated by men. And even a lot more of leadership skills to be able to lead or acting as successful leaders in such environments.

So, do you have any advice or resources that could help handle cultural issues? Note, due to the separation, misunderstanding is very common between men and women in everywhere.

• International Higher Education in the 21st Century (Teaching in Higher Ed)
• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom* by Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills

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