Any business, no matter how well-managed it is, may face a critical point at a certain time. It may happen due to a number of reasons, and this downfall can strongly influence your working process in a negative way.
Some of the main aspects that have a huge impact on teamwork are proper communication and collaboration. If any of these aspects start lacking, it may lead to numerous conflicts and failures within the company.
If you notice any signs of your team breaking down, then it might mean it’s time for a team communication reboot. Today, we want to define what may cause it and find ways to resolve the problem.
Why Might Your Team Need a Communication Reboot?
First of all, let’s outline some of the points that might signal that your teamwork is not “working out.” It’s really important to note these factors as early as possible to avoid the loss of productivity and functionality.
Low Morale and Lack of Motivation
The first sign that something is wrong within the company is if you notice that the atmosphere is dull and the employees are not as ambitious and active as they used to be. It may happen for a number of reasons:
- If your company has faced some difficulties recently and failed a few tasks, it may really affect the general morale of your employees and demotivate them;
- A conflict between the team members or the leader and employees. When not resolved properly, it may result in holding grudges and the appearance of a cold and negative atmosphere.
Another factor that is usually the main cause of low morale is a lack of praise, if leaders do not pay much attention to the employees with the highest potential and don’t give them the recognition they deserve.
No Clear Goals
Miscommunication may lead to poor effectiveness of the working processes. Usually, when your employees stop communicating properly, they lose their focus and the feeling of working towards the same goal. When there are no clear goals and prospects, it becomes extremely hard to organize the work.
This kind of problem is actually quite dangerous, as people lose their desire to work when they have no understanding of where they are moving. They might do some general tasks, but let’s be honest, it will lead to nothing.
Problems with Collaboration
The whole purpose of having a team is to work together and complement each other’s strong and weak sides. Teamwork is effective as long as all the employees are on good terms and are ready to collaborate. However, when it starts lacking, people pay more attention to their own tasks rather than the ones that will benefit the general work. This kind of behavior usually leads to bad workflow and loss of productivity.
It’s extremely important to listen to each other more and share the ideas and plans you have in order to coordinate the work and keep everyone on track.
Loss of Trustworthiness
Sometimes, teamwork starts lacking because the workers don’t find their leader reliable and trustworthy anymore. It can really ruin the leader’s image among the team members if he or she does the following:
- Fails to communicate properly with the employees;
- Doesn’t pay attention to their needs and wishes;
- Cannot organize the working process properly;
- Ignores great suggestions and ideas, etc.
Let’s be honest, no one likes a person that only talks and shows off but never actually does something.
Employees Turnover
Well, this sign is probably the most obvious one that you have problems within your company. Yes, employees come and go all the time. However, if the turnover rate gets really high, then it might be time to look through your working principles and rules.
Most employees leave their position because they are not satisfied with certain aspects of their work. It can either be issues with their team members or management. Most problems of that type also occur because of poor communication.
Ways to Reboot Your Team Communication
Above, we mentioned some of the signs that your team is lacking proper communication. However, it’s important to not only find the problem but to resolve it as quickly as possible. We want to present you with some tips on how to reboot your team communication.
Overview Your Leadership
First of all, start with yourself as a leader and try to analyze your actions and behavior. Still, how the leader acts and works have a huge impact on the general mood and workflow. Of course, it’s important to maintain a certain distance and subordination, but being more approachable helps create a better relationship between you and your team.
Here are some helpful tips to help you with this:
- Try to encourage more conversations. Ask your employees about how they’re doing from time to time;
- Share your experience, both positive and negative, and show that it’s okay to fail sometimes. Be sincere, it’s what people value the most;
- Always express your thought clearly and tell the truth. Only that way can you gain trust;
- If you’re not sure about something or you’re not competent enough in a certain field, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’ll allow your workers to understand that you completely trust them and believe in them.
Define Your Goals
It’s impossible to plan out your work properly if you have no idea where you’re moving and where you want to be in the future. That’s why it’s crucial to gather all your employees and define your main goals and tasks.
After you do that, it’ll be much easier to come up with a strategy and divide the tasks between your team members. Don’t forget to encourage your team members to share their vision and their ideas for the company’s growth and development.
To keep everything on track, conduct regular meetings where you can discuss all these points. That way, your workers will have a clear understanding of the future prospects and their responsibilities.
Team-Building Activities
If you start noticing that conflicts are evolving more often and your team starts breaking apart, then it might be time for some team-building activities.
These can really help figure out the communication problems and resolve them. Also, team-building activities allow your team members to learn more about each other in both personal and professional aspects.
Encouragement and Recognition
It’s human nature to strive for praise and recognition. All people would want their hard work to be acknowledged. That’s why it’s essential for you as a leader to celebrate the wins and achievements of your employees. If you don’t give them the raise or promotion they deserve, your workers might become discouraged and demotivated.
Another important factor is encouragement. Try to give them more opportunities for growth and development. Always encourage them to learn and improve their skills even more.
Summing up
Any team can face a crisis at some point in its existence. It’s extremely important to notice it at the starting point and deal with it properly. As a leader, you have to pay more attention to the atmosphere within the company and the relationships between your employees.
Try to encourage more communication, as we all know that communication is a key solution to many problems.
