Carla has just been promoted. Now she’s supervising a newly restructured customer service team. But it’s clear not everyone is happy with the changes that have been made. Carla’s new team is in conflict.
Carla needs to get her team back on track quickly. Here’s how we’d help Carla deal with this problem. You can use the same strategies to improve your team’s performance or rebuild your team after a period of significant change.
Work on understanding each other
People perceive the world and communicate differently. For example, some people are naturally impulsive, others more reflective. These differences often cause conflict at work. Carla should help her team members understand this. This will enable them to accept and adapt to each other. The MBTI personality instrument is a great tool for doing this. It helps individuals understand each other and develop better ways of communicating.
Create a shared vision
Change is often accompanied by uncertainty. This can make it difficult for team members to understand the bigger picture. Carla might find it useful to hold a facilitated team discussion around team goals and objectives. This discussion should first focus on organisation-wide goals. Then it should link back to how Carla’s team contributes to achieving these goals. It would also be really helpful to get the team involved in setting its own objectives. This would increase clarity about the team’s purpose and motivate the team to be committed to success.
Build team relationships
Significant change can leave people feeling stressed and demotivated. Yes, there’s serious business to be done. However, it would be a great idea for Carla to focus the team on getting to know each other. Teambuilding activities or social events could foster positive rapport and trust within her team. Carla needs to plan a schedule of these.
Need help handling change at work? Book a personal coaching session with Eleanor. Contact us now.
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