Maintaining Team Focus Amidst Cost-Cutting, Layoffs, and Uncertainty
Balancing the needs of your team while navigating through a period of company-wide uncertainty and challenges can be a daunting task. As a leader, your goal is to motivate your team, alleviate their concerns, and ensure their contributions continue to drive the organization forward. Striking the right balance between providing support and holding them accountable is crucial in these times.
So, how can you effectively guide your team to remain productive and engaged despite the uncertainties surrounding job security? What strategies can you implement to foster career growth and development when conventional methods like raises and promotions are limited? Moreover, how do you safeguard your team from burnout during this period of instability?
Insights from Experts The current work landscape is undeniably demanding. Companies are announcing cutbacks, budget reductions, and project delays, while employees are grappling with heightened stress levels. Managers find themselves squeezed between the expectations of upper management and the well-being of their teams. According to Susan Fowler, CEO of Mojo Moments and author of “Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work and What Does,” managers may face challenges motivating their teams while lacking the authority to provide incentives.
Balancing these dynamics is a top priority, as emphasized by Wendy Smith, a professor at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics and author of “Both/And Thinking.” Effective management requires a consideration of both professional and personal aspects of your team members’ lives.
Although eliminating all sources of anxiety and uncertainty may not be feasible, creating a supportive and engaging environment is possible, notes Ellen Kossek, a professor at Purdue University’s Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business. While job security cannot be guaranteed, fostering collaboration, positivity, and a sense of belonging within the team can significantly enhance its resilience. Here’s how to accomplish that.
Prioritize Your Well-being As a manager, you are not immune to stress. However, it’s essential to manage your stress levels effectively. Avoid allowing your anxieties to negatively impact your team. While it’s natural to worry about your own career stability and the changing work landscape, projecting those concerns onto your team is counterproductive.
Ellen Kossek suggests, “If you’re under strain and not taking care of yourself, it’s going to cascade down to your people.” To ensure you lead effectively, consider seeking support from a coach, therapist, or mentor. Wendy Smith emphasizes the importance of addressing your anxieties to remain present, confident, and fully engaged in your managerial role. By offering yourself compassion and empathy, you’ll be better equipped to guide your team through the challenges ahead.
Demonstrate Willingness to Address Difficult Matters
Although it may be tempting to avoid addressing uncomfortable subjects, research underscores that overlooking your team’s concerns and uncertainties can exacerbate the situation. Wendy Smith suggests encouraging open dialogue among team members, and as a leader, you should exemplify this behavior. Leading by example, she notes, “When you, as a leader, can say, ‘I feel anxiety and fear, and I imagine that you might too,’ it’s a profound act of empathy.”
Engaging in honest conversations about challenging topics contributes to trust-building. However, these discussions should steer clear of devolving into venting sessions. Instead, concentrate on highlighting the prospects for growth and development while providing a sense of hope. Wendy Smith advises, “Acknowledge the collective anxiety but don’t let it hinder progress. Embrace the difficulty of growth, as it holds value. Working through challenges as a team is worthwhile.” Ellen Kossek adds that maintaining a practical yet positive tone is essential. She recommends saying, “This is a time for resilience and to demonstrate our ability to navigate adversity.”
Grasp the Essence of Motivation
In situations where salary increases and promotions are unavailable, alternative avenues for motivating and inspiring employees must be explored. Overcoming this obstacle might be less daunting than anticipated: While financial rewards and extrinsic incentives carry weight, research reveals that providing autonomy, learning opportunities, and meaningful tasks can wield even greater influence.
According to Susan Fowler, “The fundamental responsibility of a manager is to establish an environment where people’s choices, connections, and competencies are fulfilled.” This entails granting team members more control over their work locations and schedules, offering avenues for skill enhancement, and facilitating relationship-building opportunities. Even as a manager, not the highest-ranking executive, you possess a degree of influence. Fowler asserts, “Managers possess untapped power.”
Cultivate Creativity in Leadership
Leveraging this authority necessitates a combination of curiosity and creativity, according to Wendy Smith. She advises directly querying team members: What forms of motivation would resonate with you over the next year? And how can I provide support?
For certain individuals, increased flexibility might be the answer. In such cases, you could establish core working hours and build flexibility from there. Others may seek growth opportunities, for which you might arrange mentorship experiences with senior colleagues, identify cost-effective leadership development programs, or pinpoint cross-functional projects that offer exposure to different areas and colleagues. Susan Fowler emphasizes the liberating nature of choices, noting, “Granting choices liberates people, leading to an energy shift.”
While the effort should encompass all team members, Ellen Kossek underscores the importance of focusing on motivating top performers. In an uncertain economic climate, she advises retaining these star performers and channeling attention toward individuals aligned with industry expansion, customer growth, and professional development, as opposed to those merely navigating the status quo.
