Pay attention to what individual employees tell you
If you suspect there is something going on in the team, Management Issues advises you begin by listening closely to what your subordinates tell you during your regular, individual meetings. Find out whether there is something bothering individual employees or if there is a particular issue they are dealing with that you might be unaware of.
Find out whether there are common issues or generic problems
Using your talks with individual employees, create a picture of the situation in the team. If multiple employees mention the same unpleasant or sensitive topic or problem, it is highly likely this is an issue that should be dealt with generally in the team as a whole.
Open the issue in a sensitive way
Talk openly about the given topic in front of the whole team, for instance at a regular meeting. Be straightforward, do not try to sugarcoat anything or use euphemisms. At the same time, maintain a certain decorum and be very sensitive and careful, especially if you do not know the extent to which individual employees are affected by this issue and how sensitive they are to it.
Create a safe space where employees can say what they think
Let your employees talk while you act as a moderator in a debate on the given issue. It is important you show individual team members they are free to say what they want without fear of being persecuted for it.
Find a common solution
Together with your team colleagues, find a solution that will be acceptable to everyone. Then you must check at individual meetings with team members that things are genuinely moving forward in a positive way.
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