Hey, it's Rachel, your modern mentor.

I'm the founder of Lead Above Noise, where we help leaders design work so that results, wellness and engagement all thrive together.

And if you are a leader of a team wishing you could get more from and do more for your team, you're in luck.

I'll be hosting a complimentary live round table on this very topic on September 17th, 2025 at 1:00 PM Eastern.

You can learn more and register for free@leadabovenoise.com slash workign.

So onto today's episode, let's start with a random exercise.

I want you to picture your colleagues, the ones you tend to work with every day.

Think about your experience of working with them, and then in your head, assign each one an emoji, like maybe, hopefully a few are the heart, eyes face, but be honest.

Is anyone the frowny face or the I'm covering my eyes so it's not my problem.

Face is anyone.

The actual poop.

Truth be told, a range of emojis is normal.

We don't have to love everyone we work with, but we do have to actually work with everyone we work with, even when there's friction or tension.

And you may not be surprised to learn.

This comes up a lot for me, and that's what we're gonna talk about today.

How to better manage team friction through work design, not through major overhauls, but by changing how things flow, how your team operates together inside the container of your work.

Because when there's an absence of ease, it impacts the results.

So let's talk about how I like to address this.

Sometimes a client will say something like, the kids are fighting and I need it resolved, and I get it.

I see why a leader may feel like a referee sometimes, but often what feels like bickering is actually a symptom of a meaningful and solvable problem.

I like to use four domains of teamwork as both a diagnostic and a design tool to get from friction to ease.

You can try using it to kickstart a conversation.

If it suits you, use it for a quarterly check-in just to keep yourselves on track.

So what are these four domains?

The first is clarity.

Like do we all share the same understanding of our priorities, our roles, and what success looks like Without it work gets duplicated.

We have to do rework or things get delayed because assumptions go unspoken.

I've seen teams lose entire weeks because two groups were producing overlapping deliverables without realizing it.

Clarity is about ensuring that every person knows where the team is headed and what their role is in getting there.

Next up is coordination.

Like how does work actually move across the team and between functions or people?

Poor coordination means that handoffs get dropped.

Dependencies missed upstream.

Choices make downstream messes.

And some people sit idle while others scramble.

Imagine launching a marketing campaign only to find out the product update it's promoting won't be ready for another month.

Coordination is about syncing plans so the right pieces come together at the right time.

The third domain is challenge, as in how do we handle disagreement, feedback, tension.

If challenges avoided, issues fester.

If it's unmanaged, conflict can get toxic.

Think of the meeting where everyone nods agreement.

And then afterwards, we all have the meeting after the meeting and suddenly everyone is running around with their own agenda.

Challenge is about bringing those conversations into the room so they can be resolved constructively.

And the fourth is commitment.

Like do we follow through on what we've said?

We'll do and hold each other accountable without strong commitment.

Deadlines, slip, promises, fade and trust erodes.

It's the action item that never gets done and no one calls it out.

Commitment means our words matter and our peers can count on us.

So can you see how each of these domains is key to a healthy, successful team?

So now let's talk about how to put them into action.

If your team is struggling with any kind of achiness, you may wanna give this a try, play with it however you like.

But here's how I typically run a team through this exercise.

First, start with an individual reflection.

Hold the team together for a quick live kickoff conversation.

Briefly explain the four domains to them and just ask each member to do a private assessment to capture one example of when the team got each one right and when they fell short.

And maybe to identify one behavior from peers that would help them perform better and to name one of their own habits that they could commit to improving.

This is done individually and prepares everyone to bring concrete observations into the conversation.

Next, diagnose together one domain at a time.

So work through the domains one by one.

The purpose here is to compare perspectives, identify patterns, and understand where the biggest breakdowns are occurring.

It's really important to create a safe space here.

It's not about pointing fingers or assigning blame.

It's about looking at how the team operates from the outside.

In this step is about building a shared understanding of what's working and what's not.

Next, build domain specific solutions for each domain.

Agree on one or two observable norms, not philosophical ideas, like we'll collaborate better, but really specific ones like we'll confirm deliverables and owners before we start a project.

So some examples might be that we agree to hold a 15 minute cross team kickoff for every shared project for challenge.

Maybe we agree to raise concerns within 48 hours and pair it with a proposed solution for commitment.

Maybe we agree to track all personal commitments in a shared document that we can review monthly.

These are totally illustrative.

Yours will differ, but notice that they are specific and they're easily doable and they're designed around deliverables versus difficult personalities.

Next test with real scenarios.

Take the breakdown examples from step one and test them against your proposed norms.

Would these norms have helped prevent the problem?

If not, keep refining them until they would.

And finally, commit.

Document and revisit.

Capture your norms and commitments in a one page operating charter.

Decide when you'll review it quarterly, bi-annually, or after major changes to ensure the agreements stay relevant and you can always update it.

The four domains aren't just a checklist, they're a framework for better designing how a team works together.

When you keep the framework front and center and work through it deliberately, you move from vague frustrations into specific shared agreements that can improve relationships and results.

And as with most things I share on this show, the goal isn't an overnight turnaround or overhaul.

It's increments of better one at a time designed by the team and for the team.

I hope something in this episode compels you to take an action.

And if you do, shoot me a note at rachel@leadabovenoise.com to tell me all about it.

Join me next week for another great episode.

And don't forget to sign up for the work design round table@leadabovenoise.com slash work design, or if you are interested in running an actionable work design lab for your cohort of leaders, head over to lead above noise.com/connect and fill out a contact form.

You can follow Modern Mentor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Find and follow me on LinkedIn.

Thanks so much for listening and have a successful week.

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