Factors such as individual mistakes, strained interpersonal dynamics and a lack of communication between the leader and team members can lead to a team underperforming and the leader getting a bad review. Leaders may feel helpless, especially if they believe they have been working hard for their team.
Harvard Business Review offers the following tips regarding what you can do if your team is underperforming.
- Realize you are not in this alone. Elicit support from your peers by asking for advice regarding what they have done in similar situations. Look outside the organization for guidance from mentors or other leaders you respect.
- Accept the feedback but acknowledge the good. Although you may feel defensive and angry about the feedback regarding your team, recognize you are accountable for the actions or inaction of team members. Acknowledge it is a time for a better plan. Ask your boss for support for your team and highlight what is going right.
- Do not be overcome by negative thoughts. It can be easy to get caught up in self-blame, but it will not help the situation. Find what you can control, make an action plan and move forward.
- Consider what you need from your boss. Schedule an in-person follow-up meeting so you can ask for support while paying attention to nonverbal communication, such as body language.
- Take a fresh look at your leadership style. Ask yourself these questions: How is the current way I am leading the team working? If I need to make a shift, what would that look like? How am I holding each team member accountable for specific deliverables?
- Co-create team goals. In individual status meetings, ask each person to come prepared to discuss goals and how he or she is moving toward them. As the team leader, consider whether you have explicitly shared feedback so each team member knows where to focus; shared how you would like to see goals developed and written; and how you will stay informed regarding each team member.
- Think about your future. Although it is important to help your team perform better, you also must think about yourself. Renewed focus on your own performance can help your team. Meet weekly with your boss so you can think about your goals moving forward.
