How can you improve team performance when external factors impact productivity?

1 Communicate clearly and frequently

One of the most important skills for team leadership is communication. You need to communicate the goals, expectations, and feedback to your team members regularly and transparently. You also need to listen to their concerns, suggestions, and questions and address them promptly and respectfully. Communication can help you align your team with the vision and strategy of the organization, foster trust and collaboration, and prevent misunderstandings and conflicts.

2 Adapt and prioritize

External factors can force you to change your plans, processes, or resources. You need to be flexible and adaptable to respond to these changes and adjust your team's actions accordingly. You also need to prioritize the most important and urgent tasks and delegate them to your team members based on their skills, strengths, and availability. Prioritization can help you focus on the outcomes that matter the most, optimize the use of time and resources, and avoid unnecessary stress and burnout.

3 Empower and motivate

External factors can also affect the morale and motivation of your team members. You need to empower and motivate them to overcome the difficulties and achieve the goals. You can do this by giving them autonomy and ownership of their work, recognizing and rewarding their efforts and achievements, providing them with learning and development opportunities, and creating a positive and supportive work environment. Empowerment and motivation can help you boost the confidence and engagement of your team members, enhance their creativity and innovation, and increase their satisfaction and loyalty.

4 Collaborate and learn

Another skill for team leadership is collaboration. You need to collaborate with your team members, other teams, and external stakeholders to leverage their knowledge, skills, and perspectives. You also need to encourage your team members to collaborate with each other and share their ideas, feedback, and best practices. Collaboration can help you solve problems, generate solutions, and improve processes more effectively and efficiently. You also need to learn from your experiences, successes, and failures and apply the lessons to improve your team's performance. Learning can help you identify the gaps, strengths, and opportunities for your team, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and prepare for future challenges.

5 Manage stress and well-being

Finally, external factors can cause stress and affect the well-being of your team members. You need to manage your own stress and well-being as a team leader and support your team members to do the same. You can do this by setting realistic and achievable goals, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, practicing self-care and coping skills, and seeking help when needed. You also need to monitor the signs of stress and well-being of your team members, offer them flexibility and support, and promote a culture of wellness and resilience. Managing stress and well-being can help you prevent or reduce the negative impacts of external factors on your team's productivity, performance, and health.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?