Leadership and team management are complex tasks that often go hand in hand with various hardships. One of those hardships is motivating the team in unfortunate circumstances, for example, when the deadline has been significantly changed. When people must change their plans, and large amounts of work need to be done quickly, it puts extreme pressure on the team and leads to frustration and animosity. To combat any dissatisfaction and assure the team of the validity of this action, a team leader can take several measures.
The first measure is to display a personable approach, which means taking the discussion with the team in a trusting and understanding manner. Essentially, I must not express dissatisfaction with the team’s arguments, but rather listen to them and calmly explain the situation. To motivate the team to work towards the new deadline, I need to create a sense of engagement in the strategy. This includes a high team involved in planning and monitoring progress (Larson et al., 2020). At the very beginning, I will transparently state their intentions regarding the strategy and explain that the team’s involvement and participation matter and are appreciated.
The paper shows that the immediacy of the reaction to the deadline change is vital. Indeed, it would be highly unprofessional and detrimental to the project if a leader did not state and address any situation as quickly as possible. Overall, Lisa’s approach is highly professional and dedicated since it has team meetings and personal responsibilities, such as delivering sooner at her job. For a leader, it is crucial to participate in the project not only on the organizational level but also on the level of filed-work.
Reference
Larson, N. L., McLarnon, M. J., & O’Neill, T. A. (2020). Challenging the “static” quo: Trajectories of engagement in team processes toward a deadline. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(10), 1145–1163.