There are usually two motivating factors for people to work, financial and personal. Most of the team issues that we face are related to these two factors only. As entrepreneurs we must be aware of the motivating factor of each team member. A deeper understanding of the human psychology can help us understand these factors. The understanding of these factors will make us patient while handling issues of our team and its members. To understand the issues well we should listen to the person patiently and objectively. If we act concerned and ignorant the other person will open up and share their issues freely and openly. As far as possible, personal issues should be handled personally not professionally. Each person is different and their nature is different. So based on their needs and individual problems we can resolve the matter to their satisfaction. For example, doctor does not give the same medicine to all the patients who complain of stomach ache. Though the symptoms are same the diagnosis for each one would be different and even if the medicine is same the dosage for each individual will be different. When discussing issues with staff, try to hold it in an environment where they feel comfortable. When meetings are held in a conducive environment, deals can be closed faster.
As an entrepreneur, we should be a team member not the dictator. When implementing any change, first introduce the topic to the staff and discuss it from their point of view. Then slowly share your reason for the implementing the change while asking their opinion on it. In this kind of an informal setting the team members would share their inhibitions and objections. We can handle these inhibitions and issues informally. Hence, while implementing the change team members would not be surprised and they would feel that they are part of the implementing team.
When we witness or get to know about pairs, groups and office politics. It is the sign that the organization is in dire need of team building. It reflects conflicts within the team members. Some reasons for office politics and groups are jealousy due to growth of a few people and boss’s closeness to some. People sharing common interests also get close and become a group ignoring others. Some groups which are formed based on interests where they involve other people as well, are not alarming and are in a way healthy for creating trust and team bonding. Entrepreneurs should always be aware of these issues however, they should not go out solving all the issues unless they are conveyed officially.
In case of personal conflicts between the staff, solve it professionally. If there is an open conflict between team members which is witnessed by others, we should handle them strictly as they can hurt the image of the organization. When there is an open conflict it also means that the issue has grown big and both team members are serious about it. In such situations it is important to be careful and unbiased while resolving such issues. When resolving these issues objectively, we must also issue warning to them.
Dealing with Groups
If there is a group which is creating problems, get friendly with some of the members of the group. Create your own group with the troublemakers. This would split their group and it would become ineffective. Second way of handling such people is to give them extra work pressure. Load them with so much of work that in the office they would have nothing else to think of but work. Third option is to assign tasks where people from different groups will have to work with each other. This will make people get out of their comfort zone and interact with other people.
There are times when the management wants to implement a new policy that could create rift in the team which is otherwise a cohesive unit. In such cases we can delegate the authority to a senior team member who would implement it on our behalf. By doing this we would be able to maintain cordial relationship with the team and still implement the new policy. This option can be used in situations where we do not want to directly confront our staff.
Finally, the entrepreneur should create a balance. It should not be that we praise people too much for good work and should not pull people too much for their mistakes. A balanced approached goes a long way and the team would also feel safer, otherwise they would be afraid of the mood swings.
Handling People with Habit of Experimenting
Many times we come across people who have the habit of always experimenting. These people could be our employees or associates. Whenever a job or task is assigned to them they want to do it their way and do not take our views seriously. In such scenario we should not stop them from experimenting but keep an eye on the result of such experiments. Based upon the result we should give them feedback or reward them.
To understand the psychology of such people we must understand who these people are. They are usually non conformists and have issues following rules and they are also out to prove their point that they know better. In handling these people, we need to remember not to hurt their ego or step on their toes. They have to be handled carefully. When handled with care they can become an asset for the organization. However, if challenged they can get de-motivated really fast.
We can let them go ahead with their experiment, even if we know the result. Once the result comes out as we knew it, we can politely make them understand our point of view. Handling these people requires a great deal of patience and tactful feedback where they do not feel offended. We should also not forget to reward them if the experiment becomes successful.
An entrepreneur should make his employees and associates responsible rather than answerable.