Getting ‘unstuck’ with your team
Have you ever felt like your team is "stuck"? Perhaps you've heard phrases like “hit the ceiling,” “reached their potential,” or worse, “checked out” and “silent quit.” These are the signs that things have stagnated. You see frustration building, anxiety rising, and pressure mounting from the boss or board. Your team’s energy is depleted, and the sparkle in their eyes has faded. Worst of all, you’re bracing for another quarter without that distribution or bonus.
If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same results.
Getting your team unstuck requires moving beyond the comfort zone, because that’s where real growth happens. Here are a few essential strategies to help shake off the stagnation and reignite your team's performance:
1. Encourage Self-Awareness
For a team to operate at its best, every member needs to truly know themselves and understand their role within the larger group. Encouraging self-awareness through behavioral assessments helps individuals identify their strengths, weaknesses, and working styles. Once team members have clarity about themselves, they can better align with others, minimizing friction and maximizing collaboration.
2. Build Stronger Connections
Team-building exercises are more than just fun activities—they are essential to creating trust and cohesion within the team. Through structured activities that challenge individuals to work together, you can help restore relationships and foster a sense of unity. These exercises get everyone on the same page, with a common understanding of how to support each other and tackle goals as a united front.
3. Establish Organizational Clarity
Often, teams get stuck when they lack a clear direction or purpose. When leaders fail to communicate the "why" behind their goals, team members can lose motivation. Establishing organizational clarity by clearly defining roles, goals, and expectations is crucial. When everyone understands where the company is headed and how their contributions matter, it reignites a sense of purpose and boosts morale.
4. Resolve Conflicts Head-On
Unresolved conflicts can silently erode team performance. Often, teams aren’t aware of the underlying tensions holding them back. Leaders must address these conflicts head-on and create a safe space for open dialogue. By facilitating healthy conflict resolution, you not only clear the air but also open the door to more honest communication and a stronger team dynamic.
5. Drive Systematic Culture Transformation
For a team to truly get unstuck, it’s not enough to focus on individual or group activities—there must be a systematic transformation of the overall company culture. Culture defines how people think, behave, and interact within the organization, and if it’s misaligned, no amount of temporary fixes will create lasting change. Systematic culture transformation involves reshaping the underlying values, norms, and practices of the organization. This can mean adopting new leadership approaches, fostering a more open and inclusive environment, or realigning incentives to reinforce the desired behaviors. By addressing cultural issues at their root, you create a sustainable environment where your team can thrive and continue growing beyond short-term success. A well-executed cultural shift results in a team that is motivated, engaged, and ready to meet new challenges with enthusiasm.
Growth Happens Outside of Comfort Zones
Ultimately, getting a team unstuck requires embracing discomfort. Growth doesn’t happen within the safety of the familiar; it happens when individuals and teams stretch beyond their comfort zones. As a leader, your role is to guide them there—whether through new challenges, clearer communication, or deeper self-awareness. It’s about pushing past the plateau and reigniting the drive for success.
At Salient7, we specialize in helping leaders get their teams unstuck. Through proven methods like behavioral assessments, team-building exercises, organizational clarity, and culture transformation, we guide teams toward renewed motivation and performance.
Don’t wait for another quarter of lackluster results. Take action and book a free consultation with a Salient7 consultant today, and let’s work together to reinvigorate your team, drive results, and bring the sparkle back to their eyes.