Welcome to Tuesday Team Toolkit, the weekly dose of insights to help you lead, grow, and thrive in the world of teamwork and collaboration! ??? This week will talk about why project managers need to confront bad behaviors in their team and how they can do it to the benefit of all.
Bad behaviors can happen to good people. Even the best team members sometimes exhibit behaviors that hurt performance. As a project manager, it's your responsibility to address these behaviors in a timely manner to protect team dynamics and ensure success.
- Performance Impact: Negative behaviors—like chronic lateness, dismissive attitudes, or missed deadlines—reduce productivity and morale.
- Team Dependence: Your team looks to you to set the standard. If you let bad behaviors slide, it will become the norm.
- Project Success: High-performing teams need accountability. Addressing issues early helps maintain focus and momentum.
- ?? Showing up late: Repeated tardiness disrupts team flow and can signal a lack of respect for others' time.
- ?? Not being prepared: Failing to come to meetings ready to discuss progress or challenges wastes everyone's time.
- ?? Being unkind: Negative or dismissive comments can erode trust and team cohesion.
- ? Finishing work late: Missing deadlines impacts project timelines and frustrates colleagues.? It causes extra work for everyone as they accommodate the slips.?
- ??♂? Never asking for help: Struggling in silence instead of seeking assistance leads to mistakes and delays.
These behaviors, while often unintentional, can cause significant disruptions if left unchecked. As a project manager, your proactive intervention is critical to maintaining a positive, productive work environment.
- Act Early: Don't wait for patterns to become habits. Addressing an issue early prevents it from growing into a larger problem.
- Be Specific: Identify the behavior and explain its impact clearly. Vague feedback leads to confusion and resentment.
- Stay Calm: Keep your emotions in check to maintain professionalism, even when you're frustrated.
- Focus on the Behavior, Not the Person: Critique actions, not character. This helps the individual feel more supported and less under attack.
- Listen First: Understand the reasons behind the behavior. Sometimes, external factors may be at play. There might be an illness in the family or other problems at home. If you respond too harshly without knowing the full context, it could strain the relationship. Approach these conversations with curiosity and empathy.
- Set Clear Expectations: Explain the behavior you want to see and why it matters for team success.? Help the person see how their lack of accountability hurts their team members. You may think it's obvious, but many people don't understand the impact of their misses. For example, when one person consistently submits work late, it forces others to rush their tasks or miss deadlines, creating frustration and reducing trust within the team.?
- Offer Support: Provide resources or coaching. Suggest ways you can help, like meeting every two weeks to track improvements. Personal or professional struggles are usually long-term issues, and you are in a unique position to help. Consider recommending specific resources, such as mentorship programs, training workshops, or external coaching services, to give team members the tools they need to succeed.
- Document the Discussion: Keep a record in case patterns persist. Documentation can be crucial for HR purposes.
- Show Humility: Talk about places where you struggle or where you struggled in the past.? Explain how everyone has workplace issues to deal with and how taking them on will intimately improve their satisfaction on the job as they are seen by their colleagues as creating success for the team.
- Model the Behavior: Demonstrate the professionalism and attitude you expect from your team.
Remember: Good teams depend on you to maintain a positive, productive environment. Confronting bad behaviors might feel uncomfortable, but it builds a culture of trust, respect, and performance.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going! ??
What behaviors have you confronted lately? Please drop a comment below! ?? Share your success stories and strategies for handling bad behaviors—your insights might just help another project manager out! And if you enjoyed this article, a thumbs-up is always appreciated. ??
