12.5: THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO BE A GREAT BOSS: Managing Team Negativity

(SHORT NOTES FROM TEAM MANAGEMENT:

Difficult Management Situations at http://www.mindtools.com)

 

It can be incredibly hard to work with, and manage, people who have a negative attitude.  They seem to reject new ideas automatically, and often view change with distrust.  Negativity can spread quickly through a team or organization.  Everyone should assume some responsibility for stamping out negativity.

Managing negativity in a team and organization is especially important for leaders and managers.  A team's mindset and attitude often come from "the top".  Before trying to search for the root causes of the team's negativity, it's important to look at our own attitude first.

 

Creating a Happy, Committed Workforce

There are many different factors that can affect team morale.  When morale suffers, it's important that you take steps to rebuild it quickly.  According to sociologist Alexander Leighton, "morale is the capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose".

Organizations with high morale experience higher productivity and staff engagement, they show lower employee turnover and absenteeism, and they have a happier workforce.  They find it easier to attract and retain the best talent.  There are many things that can cause team morale to dip.  For example:

·        Layoffs and restructuring.

·        Poor leadership.

·        Poor communication.

·        Lack of empowerment or autonomy.

·        Inflexible working conditions.

·        Cancellation of team benefits.

·        Damage to the organization's reputation or public image.

·        Losing a big contract or client.

·        Difficult co-workers.

·        Heavy workloads or stress, with no reward or gratitude.

·        No sense of social value to the work being done, or a negative impact on the wider society.

Too often, managers don't realize that morale is poor.