When your team is not doing what they are told…

I have seen how a manager's communication skills can make or break a team so I thought I’d share recent story of a manager who learned the hard way how important communication is. 😫

We’ll call her Mary! (Not her name obviously!)

When Mary became a manager, she was excited to take on new challenges and lead her team to success. However, she quickly realized that communication was not her strong suit. She struggled to convey her expectations to her team members and often found herself frustrated when they did not meet her standards.

At first, Mary thought that her team members were simply not listening to her. She became increasingly distant and started to micromanage her team, which only made things worse. Her team members became disengaged and started to resent her, which led to a toxic work environment...

That’s about when I was brought in to help…

It was only after Mary received feedback from her team members during a 360 performance review that she realised that the problem was not with them, but with her. She had been so focused on trying to get HER message across that she had failed to listen to her team members and understand their perspectives.

Mary knew that she had to make a change if she wanted to salvage her relationship with her team members. She started to actively listen to them and worked on key areas from their feedback about how she could improve her communication skills. She also made a conscious effort to show empathy towards her team members and acknowledge their accomplishments.

Mary's relationship with her team members started to improve fairly quickly. They became more engaged and started to trust her again. As a result, their performance has improved, and the team became more cohesive.

Mary's 360 journey taught her that effective communication is not just about speaking, it is also about listening, understanding, and showing empathy towards your team members.

And she learned the hard way that leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about building relationships and inspiring others to reach their full potential.

The 360 process can be pretty life changing!

What about you? Have you ever gone through a 360 appraisal process?