When you sense morale on your team is low, take a look at these five common behaviors to make sure you are not part of the equation.
1. Passing the Buck
As a manager, you are probably not particularly impressed when someone tasked with a project gives you excuses when it is late or incomplete – especially if they try to pass their own ineptitude onto someone else. This reality also exists between you and your subordinates. Blaming someone below you in the chain of command endears you to no one and makes you look incompetent. Let’s face it – problems will eventually occur on one of your projects. It is best to meet the challenge head on, develop a plan for resolving the issue and take the blame yourself.
2. Seeming Unfair
Please note that we do not actually mean being unfair as that behavior will completely demoralize any team in very short time. Rather, the mere appearance of unfairness can have the same effect although it does take a little longer for it to manifest. For instance, a manager may have a person they share a common interest with outside of work. By simply discussing this interest to the exclusion of others can make it seem like there is some favoritism when there is not. For this reason, it is a good idea to engage all subordinates in non-work related conversation every once in a while.
3. Griping to the Troops
This is an easy trap to fall into – especially when a special project is announced unexpectedly and your weekend plans are ruined but it is a simple fact that your business life will sometimes intrude upon your personal one. There is really no point in griping about it to your subordinates as they cannot rectify the situation and doing so only encourages your subordinates to gripe themselves. This leaves you in the untenable position of condoning the behavior or ignoring it. Neither of which, your superiors want to see. Instead, if you have a legitimate gripe, you should bring it to your superior and see if there are any reasonable options available to help the situation.
4. Improper Use of Social Media
Similar to gossiping at the water cooler, interacting inappropriately with your subordinates on social media can really demotivate your team. While it may seem that you are “outside” of work, your interactions on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. will eventually wend themselves into the office environment. Once that happens, you will be hard pressed to explain statements made months ago when they are taken out of context by a disgruntled subordinate. It is simply best to keep your personal social media between you and your family and friends while your public persona makes the best case for your company and your own professionalism.
5. Not Following Up
It is Business 101 to make sure that things are flowing smoothly on your projects or in your department. No manager wants to be caught off-guard by their boss if a problem crops up and they remain unaware. The same is true when a project is putatively “completed.” Now is the time to get with your team – individually and as a group – to understand your wins and your losses. It’s a great time to give kudos to the best performers and to coach those who have performed less than acceptably. Not only will you keep your finger on the pulse of the department but will also let your team know that you are not acting and making decisions in a vacuum.
A Final Word
These five items may seem pretty basic but they get overlooked by even the best managers from time to time. The key is to watch for the behaviors in yourself. After all, you are the purported role model for your group. By monitoring yourself, you will develop a built-in radar for the behavior in your subordinates and be able to alter or abolish it before it becomes a problem.
