— December 17, 2018
Here’s a basic reality of human existence: Some days are better than others. It’s true of your personal life and it’s true of your business, too. Your team will have triumphs, even whole seasons of success—and, you’ll have times that are tough, when everyone is in the doldrums.
As a leader, part of your job is keeping morale high through thick and thin—no matter the external circumstances. The question is, what can you do to boost morale even during one of those rough patches? Here are a few tips.
Maintaining Morale During a Difficult Season
Bring everyone together and let them feel empowered. If your company is facing a big challenge, it’s almost always helpful to rally the troops, talk together about the issues you’re facing, and work together toward a solution. Don’t let your team members feel left out, or like there’s nothing they can do to help. Empower them to pitch in.
Create a focus point. As humans, we naturally like having things to look forward to—events on the horizon that we can work toward. Create such an event for your team—a new product launch or other milestone that will give people a focal point.
Communicate, communicate, communicate. Yes, communication is pretty much always part of the solution! Be candid and direct about the problems your company is facing, but also about the plan to get back on track and ultimately to thrive! Lay it all out for your team.
Remind everyone of your shared mission. Times of trouble are when a corporate mission statement can really come in handy. Remind your employees of the mantra, values, or objectives to which you’ve all pledged your allegiance—even if that’s something as simple as providing value to your customers. Give folks a sense of purpose!
Learn from your mistakes. During tough seasons, I find it helpful to pause and talk about what went wrong. Sometimes, it’s nothing you can control—but sometimes, there are some clear lessons to be learned. Talk openly with your team about what you’ll change moving forward, and how you’ll prevent this particular circumstance from repeating.
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