Last school year I experienced the worst staff morale problem I’ve ever faced. There were high levels of distrust among the staff members and much discord. What do you suggest?

The Team Doc Says…

Your words “high levels of distrust and discord” imply certain behaviors that your team members have demonstrated. Since you weren’t explicit in identifying those behaviors, I’ll guess what they might be and answer accordingly. And although you don’t state it, I’m also going to assume you are the leader of this team.

So, given that, it’s time for you to take some action.

1. You need to identify a set of ground rules for interaction within your team.

2. You also need to determine how you will hold your team members accountable for following those ground rules and what the consequences will be for not following them.

3. You need to hold a team meeting and share these ground rules with your team. You could start the meeting by saying, “I’ve been remiss in allowing unacceptable behavior to occur between team members on our team and it has produced an unpleasant team environment. I take full responsibility for allowing this to happen. And now it’s time for the unacceptable behavior to stop. I’ve developed some team ground rules that define what is acceptable behavior for being a member of this team.” Then you share the ground rules with them and ask for questions and get clarification. You also will advise them that you’ll hold them accountable for their behavior.

Start now.

What about you reader? How would you handle this situation? Please leave a comment.

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5. Every Team Member Talks — No One Listens