How can you support struggling team members?

Failure manytime builds big wins, disagreement always doesn't reflect negative attitude. In my career I have found many examples where only listening carefully and appreciating other's point of view has changed the situation. Winning moves around strong collaboration, coordination and celebrations in any situation.

One thing I've found helpful is to provide solutions and meet them half way with their suggestions. I would never want the struggling team member to feel that I'm there to save them or do it my way. I'm there to collaborate and work towards a solution that will benefit everyone. I've learned that team members want to feel great they've contributed towards "something". As a result, they will feel less stress and frustration.

To best support a struggling subordinate, you need to empower and entrust him with responsibility. Also to ensure that you will back him once things go wrong due to human error. Should set clear expectations on responsibility and goal; you should not micro-manage and engage him with overwhelmed of tasks. I know a supervisor who engages his teams till late night and micro-manage each and every decisions. I saw how they are negatively affected at work. Moreover, you should also provide him resources and support required to perform his tasks. You should also support the struggling employee with necessary learing or training to cope the job role. You should nurture a culture of trust among the teams too.

I think the best approach is to be direct. I ask them point blank. "You don't seem like your normal self, is everything okay?" When you are in an office every day with someone, this is much easier to do. If members of your team are remote, it becomes much more nuanced. Generally speaking, I want to make sure that the person in question knows they are valued and the work they are doing is important. We as people tend to perform better if we know that our work has a purpose. Once we get to the root of the problem, I say things like "what can I do to help you" and "how do we get there together". This takes pressure off them and hopefully reinforces the fact they are on a team and not dealing with this alone.

The solution to a member of my team struggling depends on the person. There is never a one size fits all solution to lagging performance. My best advice is to listen, understand, and realize they might just need you to be there in a support role and not their "boss". Life can be difficult at times and we all struggle with our own issues that could impact our work. So, being that "boss" that will listen, not judge, and best of all support them with resources, time, and my own effort has helped my team members back on track and performing at the level they were before.

I believe and practice also with the struggling team members, ask them to highlight challanges, listen their wayforward to address these, support them to achieve, enhance collaboration and at the end, results are different.

I have noticed that surprisingly often just asking people how they are doing is more than what they are used to. ?? When I’ve done that, many have told me that I’m the first person asking that in a long while. That’s quite sad. So my concrete tip for any manager would be to regularly check on your team members and ask them how they’re doing. If they are struggling, you can say that too and ask if they could tell what’s causing it. You might not be able to fix their problems, but listening will help them too.

We are all Mammals, so we exist on interdependence. Empathy and compassion should be in our human roots. In my view, communicating empathetically goes beyond a conversation and understanding, in this case is all about real connection towards others. In situations like that we must take full responsibility as a leader to support.

Not only should you do this empathetically but also based on the individual needs and characters in your team. If you try to be empathetic but approach anyone in the same way and with the same amount of time, you will probably also get it wrong. Some team members need more attention than others and you need to re-assess this frequently as circumstances change.

Emphatic feeling is the key to make the struggle members to be on board, make them feel valued and open communication to them, caring attitude to overcome the struggle area. And we can't expect the same output from all members in a team.Making the whole team in a single border objective is the charismatic leadership of Team Head.

I have seen sharing similarity in struggles and having an honest discussion based on solution works best. If the teammate is feeling burnt out/ have personal issues, the team leader needs to take step back and give them time to recover rather than just providing topical/technical solutions to get the work done which clearly showcases the intention of the leader to truly assist.

One of the key things I have found plays a key role in assisting effectively is to be aware of strengths and weaknesses of the team members, Without this knowledge, the diagnosis of why a member or members are struggling can not be done properly. If the diagnosis is not accurate, obviously, the assistance will not be that much effective.

I would recommend for these individuals to be encoureged & supported to attend trainings Seminars, & online resources that relate to the issue. Meanwhile this shall be combined with realistic assessments of their capabilities & expectations to decide which role fits these capabilities.

In the first place; I have to identify the cause of struggling; is it a lack of skills, insufficient handover, work load, etc. Once the cause is known, I can proceed with an approach that fits the problem with flexibility in mind.

This topic is extremely important to be able to have high performing teams. If one or more team members struggle, then you won′t be able to have a high performing team. For this third step, and in general for the whole process, I have used successfully the Lencioni′s Pyramid model. Establishing trust between team members is crucial, to be able to overcome any struggle. Once trust is established or restored (might have been there but some events might have erode that trust), then conflict can be properly managed (a lot of people tend to put conflicts under the carpet, not working on solving the conflicts), after that every team member is ready to commit on changing habits or behaviours that have been affecting other team members.

Each person is different. Each struggle is different. Like many frameworks, they are not designed to be a roadmap to the solution, but a compass for you to use to find a possible solution.

At the moment you get a feel that your approach is not making them comfortable, take a step back and sit down with them to ask them about any suggestions that they have.

Once you've pinpointed the primary challenges a struggling team member faces, you can tailor your approach accordingly. It's crucial to understand the root of their interference, distinguishing between internal and external factors. Some issues may be resolved through coaching or the provision of extra resources, while others may necessitate patience, empathy, and offering mental support to the team member.

The project leader should be cognizant that there can not be a one-size-fits-all approach. Any approach to provide effective assistance to a struggling team member has to be necessarily individual-specific andd accordingly tailored accordingly. The project leader also should be aware that motivators and satisfiers for each individual are different. Therefore, the approach to support struggling team member should keep this vital aspect in view while landing on an approach.

It's vital to keep in mind that everyone is unique, with varying psychotypes, life experiences, and information processing styles. Thus, the more adaptable and flexible you are in your approach, the higher the likelihood of achieving success when interacting with and supporting individuals with diverse backgrounds and needs.

Addressing the issues directly is an important part of supporting a struggling team member. This involves speaking openly about the problems, listening to what the team member has to say about the situation, and collaborating with them to craft solutions. It’s also important to stay professional throughout this process.

Address the issue is perhaps the most important step as this the execution step. Bear in mind that the leader needs to understand his/her communication style before addressing the issue. In no way one should be imposing the proposed solution and this step should be viewed as guiding the team member rather than imposing the solution one believes is the best.

I agree, this is the most important and difficult part. As in this case the person is struggling, should be normal their fragility and sensitive to engage in difficult conversations. In the other hand, to be assertive and the key for a real and mindful connection. In my case, I don’t trust or follow leaders, people are not authentic and vulnerable. And believe me, I’ve have had a few horrible and poor bosses in my career.

While looking to address issues it should be kept in mind by the project leader that quite often the issues stem from square pegs being in round holes, meaning, roles not aligned with the strengths of the concerned team member. Of course, there can be other factors as already enumerated in the article. Again, as mentioned under identify the signs', the signs should be identified promptly and also addressed promptly. If issues are not addressed promptly and they linger on, they can potentially affect the overall performance of the team negatively and hence the outcome of the project can be affected too.

Addressing the issues head on with the struggling team member is unavoidable when trying to help your team member. It’s no need to beat around the bush on this. You will need to address these issues in order to pin point why their struggling . Once you figure out the why then you can start to resolve the issues .

Leading your time should be the prime task in your calender, if you don't have the majority of your time being allocated to "Leadership tasks (aka time with your team)" you should re-assess. I have made good experience with at least a bi-weekly catch-up where the team member arranges the content of the discussion and you lead with questions.

If you really have connected with this person, we should not call this “follow up” and even less “regularly”. When as a leader you stabilised the real connection, this will transform in a solid and continuous support without the need of “schedule” follow ups. It’s a trusted link and the person will feel can access you anytime. Nobody struggle forever! People were born to naturally thrive.

Regular follow-ups are key in team leadership. They involve scheduling consistent check-ins, providing constructive feedback, and recognizing achievements. Consistent follow-ups maintain strong relationships, ensure progress, and allow for prompt identification of new challenges.

This step is crucial, and some directors tend to underestimate the importance of it. Employees usually don′t want to feel they are loading their managers with additional issues, so in my experience, after a big issue has been addressed, employees tend to avoid coming back again with feedback for small adjustments. So it is crucial to schedule follow-ups to make sure the employee feels encouraged to give additional feedback. As leaders, we have to show that we care about the solution of the issue, and not that we just intervine as a s.w.a.t. team solving something that should not have happened. Struggles in teams members need to be properly addressed, not only for the good of that specific person, but also for the good of the company.

Maybe the most important of these steps. Don't just ask how they're doing or offer support once and never come back - being a supportive team leader is a long term task, not a spur of the moment one

It is important to develop relationships with your team members. A leader who invests no effort in understanding their employees on a personal level and only engages in work-related discussions may find it challenging to connect genuinely when team members are facing difficulties. Authentic empathy and concern stem from a genuine understanding of your team members as individuals. Taking the time to invest in building relationships is the most important role of an effective leader.

There are many ways to support struggling members, depending on the specific situation and needs of the individual. Here are some general tips: - Be present and listen actively. - Help them to identify the root cause of their struggles. - Encourage them to take care of themselves.

Team Lead must be able to quickly identify the problem and then know which approach would bring the best results. Emotional support is equally important as practical support. The relationship between Team Leaders and team members should be built on trust and open communication, then every problem can be solved.

?? Identify the root(childhood, emotions, life views) of the situation ?? Guide the team member to search for the blockers within and come to acceptance that the mental blocks have to be worked on for growth ?? Focus on The light in this person ?? Co create The path for this rep to transform internally to externally ??Insert Fun, love, growth in the whole process

In conclusion, the key to supporting struggling team members lies in empathetic communication, effective assistance, and consistent follow-ups. These elements not only aid individual development but also contribute to the team’s overall success. It’s a continuous process of learning, growing, and adapting to the ever-changing dynamics of a team. Remember, every struggle is an opportunity for growth, and every challenge overcome is a step towards success. As leaders, our role is to guide, support, and inspire our team members through these journeys.