Managers can unintentionally — or even intentionally — undermine teamwork in several different ways, but one behavior that stands out is how managers or team members address conflicts within the team.
Here’s a common scenario: Recently a team leader was reminding team members about fulfilling common expectations within the team—standard work expected from all members. These standard work expectations had been determined by both management and the team, when the team developed team ground rules. One team member did not want to comply, and instead of discussing it with the team or the team leader, went “over the head” of the leader, to the manager. The discussion with the manager allowed the team member to avoid doing the task that had been agreed to by the team. Once this behavior was tolerated by the manager, the frequency of this behavior grew.
When a manager allows (or indirectly encourages) people to go behind others’ backs instead of addressing conflicts directly, it poisons team performance. The seriousness of this behavior cannot be emphasized enough:
—“Backchanneling” creates suspicion, undermines trust and encourages anger. Without trust, people won’t openly share ideas, feedback, or concerns, which kills collaboration and creates an environment for gossip and drama. The more often this happens, the more drama you’ll see. When trust is undermined in this way, it takes a very long time to rebuild it.
— In situations like this, the team becomes emotionally drained. Team members tire of indirect communication and backstabbing and the stress it causes. Constant tension, unresolved conflicts, and feeling judged or “gossiped about” sucks the motivation from the team. Good employees may disengage or look for opportunities elsewhere; in fact, you’re likely to lose your best employees first. Employees who stay often learn to share less information to avoid friction.
— This entire scenario leads to lower performance. The team’s creativity, problem-solving, and innovation plummet. Not only does this management behavior erode the team, it erodes the manager’s own performance.
Instead of nurturing dysfunction, managers need to address it immediately.
1. Train team members to address conflicts head on—one-to-one. Train the team in effective conflict resolution and feedback techniques.
2. Reinforce the training. When a team member goes to the manager as a backchanneling effort, the manager should ask, “Did you go to this member directly?” Once the team is trained, the manager needs to insist upon an effort for the new behavior.
3. If the one-on-one between the two members did not work, both members can meet with the manager to mediate the conflict.
4. Consistently communicate the expectations for effective conflict resolution. Put it in team charters, values, and in performance reviews.
5. Recognize good performance. When managers or teams see effective and professional behavior, they should acknowledge and recognize the person who worked through a difficult conversation constructively.
6. Coach and correct “repeat offenders.”
One of the things employees most complain about related to their managers is the failure to address conflict effectively. Managers can strengthen team performance by consistently using these 6 steps, outlined above.
For more ideas on strengthening team performance, please email me or message me in LinkedIn.