What do you mean your team is not engaged? Maybe you need to P.L.A.Y.
When environments go bad, teams need to do their part to make the best of a situation or turn that situation around. One of the best things a team leader can do is P.L.A.Y. with his or her team.
Praise – Now more than ever you need to praise them, their work and their contribution. You should be doing it regularly, but sometimes we get too busy, forget or don’t think it is important. Bad environments usually stem from organization changes (such as new policies/layoffs), bad company news or dare I say a bad manager. Everyone on your team is an asset and they should know that – today.
Listen – What’s really on the minds of your team? Ask them. Hear what they have to say. And no matter how difficult it is for you to do, do not respond with your canned answers, corporate speak or negation of their thoughts. A good listener takes that information, processes that information and turns it into something that can benefit the team.
Acknowledge – So the environment is bad? Acknowledge it. Make sure they know that you know. Perhaps go one step further and take some of the responsibility for letting it get to this point. When you take responsibility others will as well. But please, don’t use phrases like NO HOPE.
Yes – Say YES to their suggestions about how to fix things. Give your team some opportunity to fix the environment. Toss away rules and policies for a few moments (no one is going to do anything so radical that it will land the company in a courtroom) and see who is ready to take on the task of fixing things. A little empowerment, flexibility, and easing of the rules/policies goes a long way, strengthens a team and engages employees back into their roles.
