How do you change your team dynamic?

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This week we’re quoting Tan Wooi Leong , PMP (Managing Director, Energy & Industrial at Surbana Jurong Group)

What Leong said:

“All hands must clap together in order to see more significant progress.”

Whose hands are we talking about, here?

Leong was talking about energy transformation – and how it’ll take co-operation from numerous different angles to drive change. 

And today we’re taking a liberty: pulling his words completely out of context, and using them to talk about a different kind of change. 

Tech company teams can get stuck in a rut

At any tech company, the success of the business depends heavily on the team. And that means that when your team isn’t working as well as it could, your success is limited. 

A truth that’s not widely talked about is that high-performing teams can very quickly become low-performing teams if the conditions for them to work to the best of their ability aren’t maintained. A negative dynamic between certain team members, leadership issues, and low morale can spread rapidly – affecting how everyone feels. And by extension, how everyone works. 

But changing a team dynamic is more difficult than creating one from nothing. 

Difficult – but not impossible. 

You have to do it strategically

If the team dynamic has gone downhill, you can’t sit back and hope for everything to get better on its own. Things don’t always work themselves out; and a negative team culture is more likely to fester than fade out. 

To change this takes strategy and determination – and you have to involve everyone in the process of rebuilding the dynamic into something better. 

1. Identify the cause (or causes) of the decline in positivity. What’s really going on? Did the problem start with one particular individual or relationship, or is it an accumulation of issues that have added up over time? Why don’t people feel good? One of the most important things to remember is that what you think is the root of the problem might not align with other people’s reality. You have to be willing to ask questions and understand other people’s viewpoints – and build a clearer picture of where the issues might lie. Even if it’s uncomfortable.
2. Work to understand the conflict styles at play. In any negative dynamic, there’s likely to be a higher-than-usual level of conflict going on. Part of the work of untangling that dynamic lies in understanding the different conflict styles of everyone involved. The Thomas Kilmann Conflict Management model is a useful place to start – offering a framework for understanding how each individual handles conflict, so you can begin to create a more effective approach to resolving interpersonal issues.
3. Actively create the conditions for open communication. When people are talking about problems behind closed doors but not addressing them directly, issues are exacerbated – and by extension, they impact the whole company more than they really need to. Clearly and directly encourage open communication and offer independent mediation whenever necessary, to show everyone that their perspective is valuable, and their experience matters.
4. Define clear expectations, and set goals as a team.Everyone needs to be accountable for their actions, and for the role they play in fostering a more functional, positive culture. So be clear about that: lay down the expectations and set incremental goals to work towards together.
5. Address damaging behaviours with clarity. If certain team members are engaging in behaviours that are having a negative impact on anyone (or everyone) else, don’t disguise your attempts to resolve this in roundabout language. Be clear, direct, and fair. Give everyone a chance to speak and be heard, but be explicit about the behaviours that won’t be tolerated. Not only will this influence the person/people using those behaviours – it’ll also show the rest of the team that you’re there to support them.
6. Remember how much small acts of togetherness matter, and refresh your approach to team-building activities. Bonds matter. Creating the space for those bonds to strengthen is really important. Team building isn't just an awkward part of business culture that people have to get involved in, reluctantly, once or twice a year. It should be a part of daily work; with opportunities to connect built into the fabric of your company culture. That includes the small stuff (time to go for a coffee with a colleague; opportunities to eat together; shared spaces that are designed to enable positive interaction and communication) and the big stuff (events and activities specifically curated to strengthen the team’s relationships). 

Celebrate regularly 

We’re taking the phrase ‘all hands must clap together’ very literally here, we know: but celebration is important. 

Take every opportunity to celebrate wins, no matter how small they may seem. Celebrate individual and team successes, and focus on what’s going right as much as you possibly can. 

Changing a team dynamic when it’s become challenging isn’t easy. But it can be done – with strategy, clarity, accountability, and persistence. 

What makes your team thrive? 

We want to know what you think are the key ingredients to a thriving, positive, collaborative team. Tell us in the comment section – and we might feature your perspective in a future newsletter. 

Have an idea for a topic you'd like us to cover? We're eager to hear it! Drop us a message at hello@onegiantleap.com and share your thoughts.

Catch you next week,

Richard McKeon

Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Tahaluf

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