All businesses face tough times eventually – here’s how to lead your team through a challenge
CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Business News Daily
Every business has to weather a rough patch at some point, and while business owners must make tough decisions on how to improve their situation, they also have to pay close attention to team morale – the most damage to a organisation often comes from low spirits among employees. Here are five smart ways you can use to keep your staff motivated to persevere through tough times:
Communicate transparently about the situation
During times of crisis, communication with employees — whether done well or poorly — plays a huge role in how your team reacts to the situation and moves forward. “Your instinct might be to shield team members from what’s going on with the business, and not keep them informed”, says Arnold Kamler, owner of Kent International, “but that may leave staff feeling like they’re in the dark. At the other end of the spectrum misleading statements that suggest everything is great are just as harmful. It’s critical to be as open, honest and transparent as you can be about the headwinds the organisation is facing”.
“Communicate what is happening. Employees need to know, and they should hear it from the most senior leader,” says Kim Littlefield, partner–relationship manager at Keystone Partners. She recommends addressing three key areas in your statements to staff:
What happened or is happening.
What decisions have been made (including the business rationale).
What the plan is, going forward.
In your communications, try to exude confidence and a positive outlook on the situation
“If your staff members see you panicking, they’ll think it’s time to panic,” says Miko Branch, co-founder of Miss Jessie’s. “If they see you showing strength, they’ll feel confident in your ability to make the right decisions for both them and the organisation – you want your employees to trust your leadership.
“Rather than focus on these changes as negative, we recommend leaders look for ways to focus on the positive impact for both the organisation and the employees.”
Find the lessons to be learned
Matthew Katz, the former CEO of Verifi, warns against thinking the missteps that brought your team or organisation to this point won’t be repeated. It’s crucial to learn from your mistakes so you can handle similar situations better in the future. “Keep moving forward,” Matthew told Business News Daily. “Don’t get mired down and feel powerless to make the changes based on these insights.”
In the process of analysing and evaluating mistakes, it’s important not to place blame and create animosity among your team, said Branch. You should also be open to thoughts and solutions from employees. “Never point fingers at any staff members,” Miko Branch advises. “Working as a team is key to getting through tough times. Always be open to new ideas and strategies from any staff member – you never know where the next big idea will come from!”
Share your vision for the future
Being clear and communicative about how the team and organisation plan to move forward will help part the storm clouds for your employees. “You need to know where you are going before you can get there,” Kim explains. “Great business leaders know how to paint a vivid picture of the future. Fuelled by their passion to achieve their vision, they make it crystal clear what employees can do to get involved, and emphasise how crucial each person’s role is.
“By asking how they can help, managers show their investment in that person’s success and their willingness to be a resource in some way to help them get there,” Kim added.
Once your team starts to bounce back, don’t lose the momentum you’ve created. Maintain your leadership strength when things are going well to make sure you’ve earned your team’s trust for the next low point, advises Arnold Kamler. “It’s important for leadership to be strong and solid all of the time,” he says. “If leadership is not consistent with managers and staff during normal times, they will not receive the trust and hard work of their team when needed most.”
Celebrate large and small wins
When your organisation is going through difficult times it can be easy to dwell on everything that’s going wrong – which will eventually result in low morale across the business. However, amidst the rough patches, remember to still celebrate large and small wins to keep morale high and to remind your team that their work is valuable.
Whenever possible, break large organisational goals into smaller, more attainable, objectives and start tracking team progress. Whenever your team achieves a small goal – such as meeting a project deadline, getting a higher click-through rate or launching a new campaign successfully – celebrate the win. Reinvigorating your team with positivity will help boost morale during tough times and, as a result, you will see more confidence and productivity across your staff.
Ask for honest feedback
It can be tempting for business owners to want to fix everything and bear the burden when things aren’t going as expected; however, trying to solve problems on your own can do two damaging things to your business. Firstly, you could inadvertently create a negative organisational culture in which employees don’t feel they can collaborate or solve problems together. and secondly, the rough patch may become bigger than you are capable of solving alone.
When your organisation is in difficulties, ask for honest feedback from your employees – prepare yourself for tough feedback you may not want to hear but should strive to embrace anyway. Listening to the different perspectives across your team allows you to look at the problem holistically, and can result in a stronger team dynamic. As you solicit input, avoid asking vague questions; get to the root of the issue by asking engaging questions, such as:
How is this affecting you and your team?
What changes do you think would most benefit the organisation?
What can I do to better support you and your team?
Leading your team during a rough patch is not easy task – it can be hard to see the positive and create a better workplace when everything seems to be falling apart – but every organisation goes through difficult times and growing pains, and it’s during these times that a team most needs a strong leader to help them weather the storm.
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