How Can I Resolve Team Conflicts and Improve Cooperation While Maintaining Productivity?

Hi, I have a team of energetic people, dedicated to work and productivity. I was out of India from the office for 2 months, and during that period, a few issues came to light:

1. Team leaders are being arrogant (source: juniors)
2. Seniors don't listen to juniors (source: juniors)
3. Juniors are not cooperating and being productive (source: seniors)
4. Everyone is trying to prove others wrong
5. Lack of unity

I understand that some seniors are not cooperating with juniors but are very productive. What are the possibilities to address these issues?

Support needed 

Thanks,
Hemant

The problem is really complicated but common. You can document these and seek actions.

1. Team leaders are being arrogant (source: juniors)

If you can document it specifically as part of the performance review process, it can be done by asking subordinate staff to give feedback on their seniors/team leads/managers in an appropriate form designed by the HR Department of your company.

2. Seniors don't hear juniors (source: juniors)

This may also be documented along with point 1.

3. Juniors are not cooperating and productive (source: seniors)

This is also documented (Critical incident log) as and when the instance took place and taken into account during the performance appraisal or even discussed beforehand.

4. Everyone is trying to prove others wrong

As soon as you implement a form of recording these events and have it filled by the concerned employees, most of the problems will get resolved automatically. You can exercise corrective action effectively as you have documented facts.

You can frame a guideline (this will also give you an opportunity for a close view of the situation) from both documents, which will lead to improvement in office discipline, individual behavior, and performance.

5. No more unity: I don't understand this.

Dear Hemant,

The problems of this kind arise when importance is given to persons rather than processes or when importance is given to issues rather than values. It is your wrong perception that your people are dedicated. If they were truly dedicated, they would not put themselves before the team. They appear to be dedicated to their own skills but not towards the development of the organization.

Now you have identified the problems. Seniors must be role models for their juniors. If seniors do not listen to juniors, then you cannot blame juniors for playing truant.

Steps to Address the Issues

The first thing you need to do is tell seniors to pull their socks up. Discipline follows or flows from the top and it is not the other way around. Secondly, they should show allegiance to the organizational goals and not personal goals. Thirdly, they must create well-defined systems and processes. Fourthly, impart training on skills like organizational communication (I am not talking about communication skills, please note), interpersonal skills, etc.

Above all, one more important skill is conflict handling. The seniority of seniors lies in eradicating negative conflict and substituting positive conflict in its place. However, this is much easier said than done. But then you have to start this sometime.

At this stage, you may have the temptation of taking your team to some resort and conducting outbound training on team building. Let me caution you that if you do this, they will enjoy those games and it will create bonhomie. But this ephemeral bonhomie will wither in a couple of weeks, and things will be back to square one.

Secondly, you need to check your real leadership qualities as well. A good leader is one who ensures that everything is smooth in his/her absence as well. The sooner you left the scene, the more things started falling apart. If everything goes smoothly in your presence, then that is manager-ship and not leadership. For this, you need to weave the persons you have hired into the organizational goals and values.

You may not like my straight-from-the-shoulder views. However, my objective was to do a critical review of the situation rather than offering some cosmetic solutions filled with management jargon.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Addressing Workplace Issues: A Step-by-Step Approach

Hi Hemant, the problem is really complicated but common. You can document these and seek actions to address them.

1. Team leaders are being arrogant (source: juniors)
- If you can document it specifically as part of the performance review process, it can be done by asking subordinate staff to give feedback on their seniors/team leads/managers in an appropriate form designed by the HR Department of your company.
- I already have collected feedback from employees through a highly confidential form.

2. Seniors don't hear juniors (source: juniors)
- This may also be documented along with point 1.
- Already done as said above.

3. Juniors are not cooperating and productive (source: seniors)
- This is also documented (Critical incident log) as and when the instance took place and taken into account during the performance appraisal. This can even be discussed beforehand.
- Will do.

4. Everyone is trying to prove others wrong
- As soon as you implement a form of recording these events and get it filled by the concerned employees, most of the problems will get resolved automatically. You can exercise corrective action effectively as you have documented facts. You can frame a guideline (this will also give you an opportunity for a close view of the situation) from both documents, which will lead to improvement in office discipline, individual behavior, and performance.
- OK.

5. No more unity
- I don't understand this.
- I meant they don't meet with each other normally, they react department-wise, blame other departments, etc. :)

By the way, thanks, and it is going to help me a lot... also looking for more expert views.

Regards,
Anurag Jain

Thanks, Dinesh. I agree with your points and will put some effort into addressing them. To me, it is a failure of the entire hierarchy and should be addressed from bottom to top - top to bottom. Thanks again.

Understanding the Root Causes

The problems of this kind arise when importance is given to persons rather than processes or when importance is given to issues rather than values. It is your wrong perception that your people are dedicated. If they were, they would not put themselves before the team. They appear to be dedicated to their own skills but not towards the development of the organization.

Role of Seniors in Organizational Development

Now that you have identified the problems, seniors must be role models for their juniors. If seniors do not listen to juniors, then you cannot blame juniors for playing truant. The first thing you need to do is tell seniors to pull up their socks. Discipline flows from the top and not the other way around. Secondly, they should show allegiance to the organizational goals and not personal goals. Thirdly, they must create well-defined systems and processes. Fourthly, impart training on skills like organizational communication (not just communication skills), interpersonal skills, etc.

Importance of Conflict-Handling Skills

Above all, one more important skill is conflict-handling skill. The seniority of seniors lies in eradicating negative conflict and substituting positive conflict in its place. However, this is much easier said than done. But then you have to start somewhere.

Caution Against Superficial Solutions

At this stage, you may be tempted to take your team to a resort and conduct outbound training on team building. Let me caution you that if you do this, they will enjoy those games, create bonhomie, but this ephemeral bonhomie will wither in a couple of weeks, and things will be back to square one.

Evaluating Leadership Qualities

Secondly, you need to check your real leadership qualities as well. A good leader ensures that everything runs smoothly in their absence. As soon as you left the scene, things started falling apart. If everything goes smoothly in your presence, that is management, not leadership. You need to align the people you have hired with the organizational goals and values.

You may not appreciate my direct views. However, my objective was to provide a critical review of the situation rather than offering cosmetic solutions filled with management jargon.

Thanks,

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar
Management Training Consultant
Bangalore - 560094
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance."

Hi, I would like to have your valuable thoughts on what to do and what not to do to control all this. It shows that there is no delegation of powers.

Regards, Pon

Addressing Workplace Challenges

Mr. Dinesh and Mr. Anurag have provided you with better inputs. In addition to the above inputs, I wish to convey certain points.

• Employees are habitual in forgetting about WORKPLACE ETHICS, which includes DISCIPLINARY STANDARDS.

• HUMAN VALUES should be given importance in every organization rather than just considering our SUPERIORITY, EXPERIENCE, and more. Every human being should be treated as A HUMAN BEING only.

• Every employee needs to look into the ORGANIZATION'S OBJECTIVES to be met rather than just ignoring each other for various reasons, where EGO is one of the major reasons for NOT having UNITY among ourselves. This leads to CONFLICTS, LOSS OF UNITY, NON-PERFORMANCE, and more.

• Make your employees understand the purpose for which they are hired.

• "MORE WE LESS I" should be practiced and IMPLEMENTED PRACTICALLY.

• Your SENIORS are lacking in PEOPLE MANAGEMENT SKILLS and LEADERSHIP SKILLS too, which includes TEAM BUILDING, EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION, and INTERPERSONAL SKILLS (building relationships).

• Nowadays, MENTORING is in full swing in many organizations. This, you can deliver at your level to your subordinates, and your senior staff can deliver to their team members. Kindly make this happen at THE TOP PRIORITY LEVEL.

• CHANGE MANAGEMENT - proportional to the situation, it is a must for every individual/professional or non-professional, for various reasons. Do identify this at every level of your organization and communicate the same to the respective employee.

As Mr. Dinesh said, EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP at THE TOP MANAGEMENT LEVEL should flow from THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM LEVEL. This makes a huge difference. If you are at the TOP MANAGEMENT LEVEL and know how to handle it, I am sure you can set everything right. Kindly do remember, at times, you have to take stringent measures to set things right rather than ignoring them just because either your seniors or juniors seem to be PRODUCTIVE - PERFORMANCE-WISE but has your organization achieved GROWTH (PROFITS), etc., as expected/planned, which could have been achieved with FULL MOMENTUM (if there exists UNITY and more among your teams).

Before your organization gets out of business, kindly call for a meeting and address these issues openly, while making them understand your or ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES, which you want your employees to meet within THE STIPULATED TIME.

Have a nice day.

With profound regards

Maybe you need to combine everyone on a team-building seminar or something. It looks like they need a bit of acquaintance with one another.  Or, if anything, try reading books and other materials that will give you good insight. Check this one out - "The Dark Clouds at Work" by Dr. Darryl Cross; it'll give you good advice on how to communicate with them better. 

Dear Hemant, after reading all the replies, I totally agree with all. However, I look at it from a different perspective.

Why Did This Happen?

You were out of sight for 2 months. When you were there, all was well. Here, I see a lapse in leadership quality (sorry to say, no offense). Instead of addressing the root cause, we are focusing on the superficial problem. I sincerely feel they should be shown a vision, not just a short-term solution. I believe that once they are aligned with the vision, as you mentioned, they will be dedicated and work towards that goal. Currently, they are being spoon-fed by their manager (YOU); what they need is a leader (YOU) to guide them forward.

Dear Hemant, these are my thoughts, and I do not intend to question your capability. Please take it in the right spirit.

Thanks