My employees aren’t working as a team like they used to. What do I do?

My employees aren’t working as a team like they used to. What do I do?

Whether your team is back in the office, back on the line, or working from home, we’re all faced with something that’s pulling us apart. Plexiglass, screens, and masks, while keeping us physically safe, create significant strain on our ability to connect.

Add on chronic stress, fear, and scarcity and it’s no wonder folks aren’t working together as well as they could.

Here’s what we think may be going on.

How do I lead my team through a global crisis when I'm also dealing with my own personal challenges? Asking for a friend ...

How do I lead my team through a global crisis when I'm also dealing with my own personal challenges? Asking for a friend ...

Everyone, everywhere is struggling in some way with the changes occurring as a result of this global crisis. Personal health, professional future, family tension, grief and loss ...or any of the above. What I’m about to share isn’t groundbreaking, and now is a time when friendly reminders can be very helpful.

I'm struggling to hold things together, and people are looking to me for answers. How do I lead them through this storm?

I'm struggling to hold things together, and people are looking to me for answers. How do I lead them through this storm?

That session on How to Deal with a Global Pandemic and Market Crash would have been handy right about now. In business - and in life - one of the primary skills you’ve learned is to break big problems down into smaller chunks. Pieces that are easy to understand and actually achievable.

So, let’s work together to start breaking your situation into actionable chunks.

My team isn’t getting my long-term vision for the company. What can I do differently?

My team isn’t getting my long-term vision for the company. What can I do differently?

Our culture tells us the person at the top is solely responsible for creating an organization’s vision. The approach out-lined here releases the pressure-valve. You have the vision. You aren’t going to accomplish it on your own. Follow this check-list to get people on-board with where you want to go next.

My team said they won’t talk to me - what do I do?

My team said they won’t talk to me - what do I do?

While there are lots of reasons people decide not to talk or share information with a leader, our experience shows the top two are:

  1. People aren’t feeling psychologically safe - they feel what they say can and will be held against them, especially when it involves their current and future well-being

  2. People aren’t seeing a better future - they feel stuck because they aren’t enjoying their current reality yet don’t see anything better nor any way to get there

Until you deal with the first item and get some communication going, you can’t address the second.