With uneasy economic standing comes uneasy team dynamics. People come and go as part of business but new people coming in during economic struggles mean potential questioning to the hiring manager's position of "we really need this person so we broke budget to gain her and I need to prove to the team that the decision was correct." So how does the new employee impress their boss? Actions speak louder than words as they say and true enough, when you have a new member of the team, it is interesting how the group's dynamic shifts as each one tries to learn how the other works and how it clicks with the rest of the team. As much as politics play a good portion of this manoeuvring, when improperly implemented, existing team members can be side swiped sometimes without intent by the new employee.
For example. At a meeting that a new manager called, there was a perceived heated discussion on challenges team members faced with the project. Without any background on how existing team members discuss their issues in similar meetings, the high pitched voice can be viewed as anger and stress. A new manager can view this as something she has to take care. Her next move becomes pivotal to the dynamic of the team as they ease her into the group. If she brings in upper management and colleagues into the mix to pacify the team's perceived frustration level, she is in for a rough ride. This brings further conflict into the mix because of existing team member's uneasy position of being told to stop how they normally would process their own spats and little challenges as they are perceived to be big issues. What happens next? The new manager looks like a hero as she is able to position everyone's frustration and provide calm not realizing that there was calm in the first place and her positioning stirs future issues within the existing team dynamics.
My suggestion in this example is for the new manager to dig deeper into how the existing team works first before doing anything else. Step back, ask how they've resolved similar issues in the past and see if a suggestion or two is amenable to everyone. Bringing in other players (especially upper manager) when in reality not needed shows lack of experience in handling potential conflicts. Calm on the outside does not necessarily translate to what team members feel in reality. Clear conversations and scenario discussions work better to manage team dynamics moving forward.
I'm posting this today because although there are economic issues that we cannot control are going to affect our organisations, we do need to continue business as usual, as much as possible. So my challenge for you today. As team dynamics shift, tell me how you are managing the way new employees try to impress their bosses? Their behaviour will provide an insight on how the rest of the team will move going forward.
photo by alicia
TAGS: Management Style
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