Discussing Team Goals When Morale Is Low

Imagine stepping into the largest project and the biggest mess your company faced. Name a problem, we had, low morale, high turnover, and little direction. I began by listening, talking, and mentoring every single person on the project every day for the next 3 months. Result? My team felt valued, heard, and respected, for the first time in many months. In just 3 months, we turned a sinking ship into an imperfect but manageable and productive team. Attrition dropped to zero. Collaboration, communications, and productivity improved significantly. My team's sentiments and words, not mine: - I think that there was no horizon before your arrival. The program was extremely difficult, the client was not helping and even in these circumstances, you did a great job. - Your clarity, guidance, peace, and hard work are impossible to quantify. Thank you for your complete dedication despite having so many difficulties in the project - You have always been available to guide the team, solve constraints, and to understand the the best path to take in every situation. Imperfect, committed leadership beats no leadership. --- ♻ Share to support your network 👍 Comment with your thoughts ➕ Follow Ravi Prakash

A SDR leader asked me for advice recently. Their team had stopped winning. "We were on a streak, but lately we've been struggling and morale is pretty low." Here's the advice (and story) I shared: In 2018 I was leading an SDR team through hyper-growth. We were on a sizzling streak of meeting aggressive growth goals. Until things took a turn. The wins stopped coming and confidence reached an unfamiliar low. The team stopped making cold calls. And it was so quiet on the sales floor you could hear the worms fart. Which only made matters worse, and our lull more obvious to everyone else in the office. My CRO slacked me: "It's absolutely dead in here and we're behind quota. What's going on?" I called my team into a room. It was time for a candid discussion. 1. I bluntly shared my observations of the present (no sugar-coating) 2. I recognized them for what they'd achieved in the past (sharing specific stories) 3. I reminded them of the reasons they chose to be here (and the opportunities ahead) 4. I told them that you don't just forget how to win overnight 5. I declared that right now in this room, we're going to solution this lull and leave with a plan to get back on track We went around the room so everyone could share their 2 cents on what was holding them back. We then had a roundtable discussion on solutions we could action immediately. An hour later, we walked out of that room with a gameplan. A gameplan which everyone executed on and held each other accountable to. And just like that, we were soon back to winning ways. The best thing about this story? The turnaround was 100% team-led. All I did was manufacture an environment for it to manifest. Once I did that, the SDRs took care of the rest. And remember those "opportunities ahead" that I reminded them of? They came true. 3 years later we were part of a $700M acquisition success story. And most the team are now in high-paying AE or leadership roles. The morale of the story is this... In most cases, setbacks don't call for new, drastic or creative measures. In most cases, a good ol' fashioned pep talk and some team spirit will do. - - - Like this? Follow me, I post regularly.

This didn’t happen overnight. Years of unhealthy behaviors have led to a team that’s falling apart—communication breakdowns, missed deadlines, a toxic work environment, and you, stressed and dreading every day you have to run your own business. You just want to do what you love, but this dysfunction is getting in the way. I know it feels overwhelming, but there is a path forward: 1. Interview each team member individually. If you have a large team and individual meetings aren't feasible, consider small groups. Employees are often more open to a third-party, so bring in a professional if possible. And for the love of all that is good, if you’re not ready to take action, then don’t bother asking. Nothing kills morale more than asking for feedback and then ignoring it. 2. Identify and define what needs to change to move forward. Involve the team in this process so they can share their ideas and feel heard. This will help you get their buy-in and commitment. 3. Clearly communicate the goals and priorities. Make it a big deal—this is a hard reset for the team. 4. Define what happens when unacceptable and acceptable behaviors occur, so the team knows what to expect. 5. Hold the team accountable for their contributions and behavior. Encourage them to hold each other accountable as well, so they don’t have to run to you for everything. Since they were involved in identifying changes and setting goals, you should have their buy-in. 6. Be consistent and fair, the team is watching you. 7. Finally, watch the team produce results. And make it fun! This doesn’t have to be dreadful. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, this is exactly what I help my clients do—tailored to their team and goals. If you’re stuck and need help moving forward, DM me.