Do you have a management problem which needs resolving?

In this section, I invite you to read through some of the management issues I regularly encounter, together with my recommendations as to how to resolve them.

If you have any tricky management issues which you would like to discuss in confidence, please email me at michele.down@btopenworld.com with your problem.  I will email my response directly to you.  All questions will be treated in the strictest confidence.  Questions and answers only appear on my website by prior arrangement. Please allow five working days for my reply.

Management Issue
I have just merged two small teams into one larger team and employed two new people to join my new team. The teams have previously worked alongside each other, so know each other quite well. I’d like to do some teambuilding training.  Can you help?

The Coach replies:
The word teambuilding covers a wide range of activities, from coffee and cakes to mark an occasion, to lengthy residential programmes, exploring interpersonal relationships and resolving complex team issues. 

In merging two teams, you are creating a new team and it is important that you treat this new team as a completely different entity.  When any new team is formed from two previously established teams, tensions are high, members assess each other, consider their position in the team, look around for allies and rivals and subtly begin to establish a pecking order.  The addition of two new members can increase insecurity. Therefore, creating a stable, safe atmosphere in which to work is vital to the healthy performance of this new team.

As the manager or team leader, it is important that you provide a strong, supportive presence, whilst people adjust to the change.  Keep a watchful eye on unfolding relationships and areas in which there might be future discord.  At this stage, it would be counterproductive to bring in anyone to actively build your team, as this could feel threatening to members who have not yet established their place.  The best form of team-building at this early stage is social.  Mark occasions, such as birthdays or big events, as a team; lunch together occasionally; find an activity which everyone enjoys and organise an evening out.  These events develop a team spirit, enabling members to feel valued and secure. 

Once the team begins to settle down, you will have a better idea about how the changes have affected performance, both individual and as a whole.  That will be the time to call in a teambuilding trainer, who will listen very carefully to the problems you would like to resolve and write a training programme to address the specific issues of your team, at their stage of development.  The best teambuilding trainings have a combination of fun and  reflection, the latter effecting lasting change.

Was this advice useful to you?  Do you have a problem to share with The Coach?  Email michele.down@btopenworld.com

Management Issue:
As a Company Director, I have recently promoted someone who is struggling with his new role as manager. I am unable to understand why; he was practically doing the job before I promoted him, and the team all looked to him for advice, as he was the natural leader.  He was eager to take on the role, so I don’t know what has gone wrong. 

The Coach replies:
It sounds as if he is having a crisis of confidence.  Many people who become managers suddenly feel as if they are expected to have all the answers.  And they usually expect this of themselves, too.  This becomes a huge internal pressure, the stress from which has a major impact on their ability to perform.  Your manager was previously happy to give advice, make decisions and provide leadership because his job didn’t depend upon it.  Suddenly, he feels exposed, with the expectations from you and the business weighing upon him, regardless of how much support you are giving him.

Talk to him.  Make a time when you can both sit down, without any interruptions, in a relaxed atmosphere.  Make sure it is early on in the day, before you both get tired and the workload piles up.  Begin by affirming some of his successes and then share your concerns for his well being.  The most common mistake you could make at this time, is to focus on the work itself, because it is easier to do so than to talk about what your manager is going through, that is, his feelings.  If you do focus on work, you will only find work-based solutions which, at best, will lead to a short term improvement.  In the long run, nothing will change, except that your manager will now think you have issues about his performance, so will be even more stressed.

Instead, follow the process below:-   

Once you have grasped the issue, the solution may be obvious and easy to apply. If not, he would benefit from working with a professional management coach who will provide him with the skills and techniques to work through his issues of loss of confidence or self-belief. 

Was this advice useful to you?  Do you have a problem to share with The Coach?  Email michele.down@btopenworld.com