Good teams with bad days

Today a manager asked me how to think about assigning work equitably right now when everyone on the team is in a different place with what they can personally take on. It started me thinking.

On high-performing teams during normal times, it’s common to have everyone on the team looking for growth. That means stretch assignments and challenges for everyone, and individual tolerance for working in a high state of personal ambiguity. 

This can be fun and energizing, and also uncomfortable. A brand new challenge is always a little uncomfortable. Though they need to be safe places (different article!), great teams that seek challenge are not always “comfortable” places.

So maybe you’ve built a high-performing team, and under normal circumstances, people thirst for growth and challenge. But these are not normal times. Right now, everyone’s energy and motivation are up and down. This can make it tough to lead. 

Thinking about their team members for the long term, a great manager wants to balance challenging opportunities as they align across the team. But what if someone just isn’t up for challenge right now, even if they usually would be?

Speaking only for myself, my energy is up some days and down on others. Even within a single day, I often hit multiple peaks and valleys of energy and motivation right now. I’ve tried to bring that time horizon in when I think about aligning work for myself and others.

Someone who was up for a leadership challenge last week may not be today. Someone who is up for a work stretch today may not be next week, or even tomorrow.

But while most of us do have some low periods right now, we also have high points. Ebb and flow. It’s ok for some people to be up while others are down. It’s ok to have down days. Up periods are often right behind them.

The thing about high-performing teams is that they are not just a set of motivated individuals. Teams get results together, not apart. Even during the most stressful times, someone is usually there to lead with positive energy. 

The beauty of this, for a real team, is that it doesn’t always have to be the same person bringing the positive energy. You might lead today, and take inspiration from someone else tomorrow. 

Rather than feeling bad about your low energy right now, recognize that taking turns leading has the potential to make your strong team even stronger. As a manager with a high-performing team, it’s hard to go wrong by leading empathy-first. By meeting people where they are right now, trusting that someone will be up when another is down. 

Honoring where people are in the moment (including you, manager) gives people permission to have off days. It also helps teams depend on each other and build shared accountability and trust when it’s not always the same person leading.

Sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow. Great teams are composed of individuals who can do both. Great team members can be comfortable with either.

These are weird times when everyone’s energy is more up and down than usual. It’s extra important to meet people with empathy. Nothing makes that clearer than a broad societal crisis. But so much of this can be intentionally applied during non-crisis times too.

We won’t always be in this crisis, but teams will always be better when we realize that we all have good days and bad ones, and we can align work in a way that honors this.