Lisa Mathis Senior Ayers Consultant

Teams are the building block of the decentralized, global 21st century corporation. Right now, like so much else in business, this important work unit is undergoing fundamental changes.

Some are the inevitable result of major, long-term trends. Demographics and globalization, for example, mean that teams are increasingly multigenerational and multicultural. This diversity heightens the potential for misunderstanding, conflict, and miscommunication.

Other changes are products of the current economic crisis. Employees see the people around them being let go. They’re being asked to do more with less – and often for less. Their managers are constantly in unexplained meetings. They live in fear of losing their jobs. The result, not surprisingly, is a growing lack of trust in business leadership and a questioning of organizational values.

Another byproduct of the crisis is that employees are overwhelmed by external issues, such as spousal job loss, financial pressure, and uncertainty about the future. Add to those distractions concern over swine flu and the future of our health care system. Stress levels are surging, often creating health issues.

At Ayers, we help our clients address these changes through team interventions, team and individual coaching, leadership development, and seminars aimed at dealing with specific issues, such as managing multigenerational conflict.

During the two decades I have been working with teams, the focus has changed. The days of Outward Bound-type team-building activities and trust falls are gone. Today, companies want future-focused strategic plans. If we are called in for an intervention with a team that is struggling with trust, we facilitate 360s for the members.

We look at the feedback, talking about the strengths and deficiencies and creating individual development plans to address those. There may be one-on-one follow-up coaching. More and more, I find myself using peer coaching – where team members share their feedback with each other.

Communications and relationship building
Above all, we focus on the importance of open, honest communications and how to create, build, and sustain relationships – the keys to rebuilding trust. Right now, that’s Job One for many companies.

This is a time for team leaders to work on enhancing communications, relationship-building, and motivational skills. It’s a time to be especially focused on their teams. The following are some strategies for reconnecting, rebuilding trust, minimizing distractions, and strengthening team bonds:

• Communicate openly, honestly, and often! One manager recently told me, “There are certain things I can’t tell my direct reports and they know it, so they don’t trust me.” Of course you can’t divulge everything. But if want to regain trust you need to tell your team all you can, whenever you can.
  
• Communicate goals, objectives, and strategies clearly and consistently.
  
• Be inclusive. People want to know how they can contribute in a meaningful way. Engage team members by asking for their insights and views. And listen to what they say.
  
• Give team members the latitude to take something and run with it.
  
• Let them know it’s ok to make mistakes and take risks.
  
• Find ways to get team members to open up and develop relationships.
  
• Talk to your team members about how they feel and what’s weighing on their minds. Make sure they know about the in-house resources available to help them deal with personal issues. I often find that employees simply are not aware of these. Minimize external distractions and alleviate the stress they cause and you will improve productivity.

  Senior Ayers Consultant Lisa Mathis draws on more than 20 years of hands-on experience in Corporate, working with executives, teams, and individuals across a broad base of industries. She is a former Director of Executive Talent for Merrill Lynch and Executive Director General Manager of Leadership and Sales Development for NYNEX/Bell Atlantic Mobile.