As I turn the corner, I can hear laughter emanating from the conference room halfway down the hall.
The conference room is my destination. The meeting I'm about to attend involves a difficult topic. Going in, the participants know that there will be some heated discussion. We've all got different ideas on how to tackle the problem at hand. Everyone's frustrated by the constraints levied upon us. Coming out of the meeting we'll need to show a united front.
The laughter is comforting. It's a reminder of what I great team I'm working with. A reminder of our mutual respect even when we disagree. A reminder that if I'm going to be a part of this conversation, these are the people I want sitting with me at the table.
On this day, laughter is a reminder that I'm part of a healthy team. A team on which each of us feels comfortable speaking up, where we can be ourselves without repercussions.
To me, the best indicator of team health is how well people can genuinely laugh and play together.
One time a member of a team I was leading reached out to say that the team had planned an after-work outing at the park to play volleyball and hoped I'd come too. Almost everyone on the team showed up that evening and we had a blast. While I had no part in planning the event, I had created an environment in which the team was clear on who owned what work scope while also encouraging them to collaborate - they leaned on each other as sounding boards for new ideas, they introduced each other to their contacts when they thought someone else on the project could help, they put their heads together to solve complex problems. When the mid-afternoon food coma was about to hit, they'd grab the basketball and head outside for a quick game of H-O-R-S-E. Fifteen or so minutes later, juices flowing, they'd return to their work with renewed energy.
Another team I worked with had a huge morale problem when I was first introduced to them. There had been a poorly thought-out leadership change on the team. There were also several leadership changes at the next level up on the project in the span of about 6 months. The team was discouraged, confused and demoralized. Along with a couple of other folks, I was involved in the effort to identify a new team lead and support them in helping them turn things around. Within a year or so, it went from the team people couldn't get off fast enough to the team nobody wanted to leave. Several team members decided to form a fun committee and were always planning a team activity - from spirit week to Oreo flavor brackets during March Madness.
If your team is struggling in the morale department, all is not lost. Admitting there's a problem is the first step, as they say. In these situations, it's important to be open with the team - acknowledge the problem and be genuine about wanting to make positive change. Effective strategies I've seen include:
- Suggestion box - Create a virtual and or physical suggestion box for people to submit anonymous feedback. If morale is low, trust in leadership is likely eroded and folks may be more comfortable submitting feedback anonymously.
- Team survey - Send out a team survey to gain insight into what, if anything, is going well and what could be improved. I recommend the respondent's name be optional. Again, some folks will prefer to respond anonymously. If people include their names, it provides an opportunity to ask clarifying questions or obtain additional details.
- Share feedback - Sharing results of the suggestion box and/or survey with the team indicates that you are taking the issue seriously and shows that people's voices have been heard. The feedback may include things that you don't have direct impact on - typically issues at the organizational level. Acknowledge these items and share any actions you've taken to elevate the problem(s) to folks who may be able to effect change.
- Path forward - Identify a path forward and share it with the team. Let them know what changes can be made quickly and what changes may take longer to implement (and why). Provide periodic check-ins so people are aware of what progress has been made and what challenges, if any, have arisen.
- Fun Committee - Ask people to help planning some fun activities for the whole group. One project I worked on had a team called MASH (Make Awesome *Stuff* Happen).
The key to a successful culture change campaign is transparency. If something doesn't go as planned or you make a misstep, own it. A leader who owns their humanness is more relatable than one who moves forward if nothing has happened.
How is morale on your team? What can you do to maintain good morale or improve flagging morale? How often to you check in on team health?
I'd love to hear from you. Please comment below or send me a note via the Connect section of the home page.
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