Experiencing issues on the team? Check these 3 things first…

As a manager, dealing with the day-to-day operations AND the people side of business can feel like two full time jobs. It’s hard to know how to prioritize when operations need to move forward and you are committed to developing your team and your culture. In those moments when there are issues coming up on your team, sometimes we, as leaders, take a step back to just observe and (if I’m saying what everyone is thinking) pray it goes away.

I hate to break it to you but this only makes things harder for you.

As managers, we are an essential element to helping our team remove barriers and solve problems.  We unite, realign, and carry our purpose and people forward.

When there are issues on your team, these are 3 things I would look at first:

1.     What needs to be communicated to make sure everyone is on the same page?

One of the worst things we can do (and we DO often) is assume everyone knows what we know or see things the way we see them.  If that was the case, then we wouldn’t be in this situation… never assume what people know. Instead, be curious, ask questions, and clarify.

You can be proactive about this by going over company practices in your onboarding process and having regular team trainings to keep your team up to date.

 2.     Have I set a standard practice that aligns with our values?

When our team is acting in a way that doesn’t feel good to us, it’s time to start questioning whether our practices actually align with our values. Is what we are doing aligning with what we believe in?  What behaviour are we allowing that takes us further away from our values instead of closer to the culture we want to nurture?

You can make this easy for you and your team by having your values visible in common spaces. Bring up your values while you make decisions (big and small) and reinforce behaviour that aligns with your company values.

3.     Does the team need support to get through this tough moment?

Often times employees want to do better, they just aren’t sure how to get there. Giving them the right training, coaching, mentorship, and information will help them progress through the challenge.

 You can incorporate conversations about support and goals in your regular 1:1 conversations, not just saving them for your once a year performance review or when issues come up.  Keep development as an ongoing conversation and watch how strong your team performs!

The one thing these have in common is that all of these start with having a conversation with your employee. So I’ll leave you with this: what conversation can you have today that will make tomorrow a little easier?