How To Get Back On Track After A Team Shake Up
Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 8:46 pm by Denise O'Berry
Having just completed a major downsizing of our sales organization, morale is the biggest team building issue we are currently facing. Many of our managers were demoted down to reps as a result, and some are now reporting to managers who have less management experience than the demoted DM has. What can our organization do to get this team back on track?
The Team Doc Says…
Oh, this is a really bad situation. And I’d be willing to bet that it wasn’t handled with grace inside your organization either. Expect the disengagement to continue and also expect some team members to eventually leave as a result.
But for the time being, the best thing you can do is talk about the issues. And spend a lot of time communicating what else is going on in the organization.
In most organizations when this type of scenario occurs, everybody hunkers down and tries to become invisible. That is the wrong action. You need to talk to team members as much as you possibly can. Be as forthright as you are able and don’t lie. But you must acknowledge that change has occured and your people and organization are transitioning to a new reality.
In the book, Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change
Change is a process and each team member must deal with the transition to the new reality. It’s the transition that’s really tough for most people. According to Bridges, each team member must travel the transition path that includes three stages:
Ending / Letting Go —> Neutral Zone —> The New Beginning
Before any team member can move on to a new beginning, they must explicitly let go of the past by recognizing what’s done. Then they move into the neutral zone where new ideas and possibilities for the future are recognized, followed by the new beginning where the transition is embraced and a new reality sets in.
To build your new team, it is important for each team member to recognize that the transition is taking place. Build your new team just like you did the old one. Center the focus on team mission, goals, team roles and responsibilities and working agreements.
Anyone have other ideas to add? Please leave a comment.
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It is always hard to deal with a shift in power especially when it is a demotion in power. The key is to keep the lines of communication open. Let the team know the goals, the long term and short term ones. Also be sensitive to the fact that people’s pride was hurt if you honestly want the team members to stay tell them so and tell them how you anticipate convincing them to stay. It is important to let a team each one of them is valued and now is a crucial time to do just that.