Effective management can turn a dysfunctional work team into one that operates with courtesy and engagement. However, before you implement any changes, you need to be honest about whether your actions as a manager are contributing to the problem. Once that's done, you can hold a team meeting to facilitate open discussion and define how the team will operate going forward.
Self-evaluation
The questions you should ask yourself include but are not limited to:
- Are you clear that the overarching goal of your job is helping your team perform to the best of its ability? In other words, your work is less about how well
you perform tasks and more about how your team performs. Begin by evaluating the following:
- Your listening skills. Are you simply hearing words or are you really attending to what people say to you? Engaged listening supports the ideas your team brings to you.
- Your relationship skills. How well do you know what your team members like
to do or what the important
events are in their personal lives? Showing interest and empathy in meaningful ways goes a long way toward increasing loyalty and engagement.
- Your delegating skills. Do you empower your team to do their assigned tasks, or do you step in and take over? No one likes to feel that you don't trust them to do the work.
- Your skill dealing with difficult situations. Do you ignore conflict or tackle it head-on? Helping resolve workplace conflict by empathetically listening to both sides, getting to the core of the issue and working with others to find a resolution supports the team's work experience. Note that some issues — such as religious, racial and sexual discrimination — go beyond the scope of your job and need to be referred to your superiors and HR.
- Your communication skills. Do you share important information promptly and transparently? Schedule regular meetings with team members to offer frequent updates and feedback, both positive and negative.
- Your response to feedback. Do you reject what your team tells you, or become defensive when they offer suggestions that you don't like? Responding thoughtfully to your team's ideas, both positive and negative, builds community and rapport.
- Do you prioritize your relationship with your boss? Reporting the good, the bad and the ugly about your team and its progress is key. Do you have regular meetings set up to discuss these issues?
- Do you acknowledge that being a manager is a learning experience? Being flexible and nimble as well as willing to admit that there's no one way to do things will help build good communication.
- Do you recognize that change is inevitable? Team members and supervisors leave, top management changes. You will navigate your role more smoothly if you are always prepared to rethink plans when necessary.
Creating a cohesive team
Once that assessment is done and you know where you need to improve, it is time to turn your attention to improving how the team operates. Admittedly, this may be easier if you are coming in as a new manager, but it is important to try even if you are already in the role.
Organize a meeting with all team members so you can decide together how the team will operate going forward. As the meeting proceeds, be sure to encourage all members, whether they are extroverted or introverted, to contribute to the discussion. Among the topics to be discussed:
- Are all members clear what their roles are?
- Does everyone understand how their individual contribution enables the team to meet its goals?
- What does "working together" mean for the team?
- What does respecting each other's opinions look like?
- What does accountability look like?
- What does collaboration look like?
- How will the team solve problems?
By setting out the basics of how the team is expected to operate, you give team members a way to measure their performance. This also gives them the high level of buy-in that leads to success.