Negative behavior on the part of some team members may blossom during the tough times, says Kevin Sensenig, PhD, RODP, and global brand champion for Dale Carnegie & Associates (www.dalecarnegie.com ), Hauppauge, New York.
“When people are uncertain or nervous, not knowing what may happen next [with the current national economic situation],” he says, “they may not feel comfortable asking directly about how the issues may affect the organization.
“Instead they ask a coworker, which leads to rumor generation. Rumors can add more frustration and fear and that can lead to some team workers being difficult to work with because they don’t know who to trust.”
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Another problem that may emerge during the tough times is an increase in team members complaining about other team members. “All these little irritants that might have existed in the past become major issues to some team members,” notes Sensenig.
“They have trouble getting past the little things that people do to annoy them. It happens when things are uncertain. People go into protection mode—they’re trying to protect their job so they point out someone else’s problems or challenges, thinking that it will take the focus off them and onto the other person. This can lead to negativity in teams.”
Team members under stress can twist even casual communication. Interpretation of nonchalant comments about someone’s performance or about a customer may become blown out of proportion by a team member who hears another team member or the leader say it, according to Sensenig.
To explain a bit further, someone might say, “I hope that John [the team member] didn’t irritate Mr. Johnson [a customer] today when he told him the product wasn’t in stock.”
During the bad times, a team member might hear that and tell others, “I hope we don’t lose our biggest customer,” notes Sensenig. “The team member may become fearful.” The anxiety may spread to other team members, and eventually the entire team may become unsuccessful because the team is no longer functioning as a cohesive unit, he explains.
“One person with negativity and poor performance who remains in that mode may influence the rest of the team, pulling away and isolating that person,” says Sensenig.
Ignoring these problems will not help and will not make them go away, stresses Sensenig. Instead, HR can help the team leader face the challenge of dealing with a usually productive team member who exhibits negative behavior. “HR becomes the coach and thought leader, the resource to support the team manager in solving the problem,” he explains.
HR doesn’t have to be the only resource, however. Any team member, who is trained to take positive actions that deal with rumors, anxiety, and complaints among team members, can help the team succeed and thrive.
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In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll look at three principles team leaders can use to deal with team problems, plus we’ll explore an effective online leadership training program for employees.