The proposed scenario presents a considerable challenge for the manager trying to lead the team. However, it can be resolved by applying proper conflict resolution and leadership strategies.
The current level of group motivation is low. There is no enthusiasm, and the employees make no effort to self-organize or pursue higher productivity. Aside from the obvious approach of offering higher monetary compensation for increased performance, the wish of the team members to assume leadership positions can be used. As the studies show, the personal traits and the motivation to lead both affect the emergence of leaders in social groups (Luria & Berson, 2012). That means that offering the best-performing employee an opportunity to become an assistant manager can help motivate all of the members to increase their efforts.
The leaders can help the team improve by adopting the principles of servant leadership. It means working with the employees and fluidly guiding the workflow to increase efficiency and resolve the emerging issues. By doing that, the managers can improve organizational culture, directly improve the performance and gain the best possible understanding of the workflow (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002). In this scenario, such an approach is crucial, since the team is experiencing difficulties of the unclear origin and they can be identified and analyzed by engaging in the workflow. Their resolution will also be easier if constant and close contact with the employees is maintained.
Since the group is plagued by internal conflicts, it is extremely important to make the members negotiate (Anderson & Bolt, 2011). The leader should act as a mediator in this situation, trying to reconcile the parties and find a solution that will benefit both sides. However, it is important to remember that the presence of a superior can prevent the workers from being completely honest with each other. So it is also crucial to promote open dialogue among the team members. Many of the personal conflicts can be resolved during an unsupervised conversation. It is also important to remind the employees that they can stand up for their right, as long as they are reasonable and polite. This way the conflict in the group can be alleviated and the team members will be able to resolve their argument reasonably and without resorting to harassment.
When dealing with the difficult customers, the most important thing is to remain calm and polite. It is crucial to figure out what exactly the client is upset about. The employees should remember that they should try to resolve the problem, but never violate the company policies or quietly bear harassment. If the client is using abusive language, it is reasonable to remind him in a polite way that his behavior is inappropriate. The servant leadership approach can help the manager ensure that the clients are handled in a reasonable way, by working alongside his team and guiding them through difficult situations.
According to the textbook, the team described in this example is currently in the storming stage of development (Anderson & Bolt, 2011). In order to progress and start working efficiently, the team members need to resolve their conflicts first, to advance to the norming stage. That can be achieved through negotiation and possible removal of the workplace bullies if they refuse to change their approach. After that, the leader will need to guide the team to the performing stage by organizing the workflow in the most efficient way possible. The common strategy named “team building” can be used at this stage to help the members learn to coordinate their efforts efficiently through various group activities. This method has been shown to be effective by recent research (Riener & Wiederhold, 2016).
While the situation presented in this scenario is complicated all of the issues can be resolved by applying a servant leadership approach and promoting reasonable dialogue and cooperation between the group members.
References
Anderson, L. & Bolt, S. (2011). Professionalism. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education/Prentice Hall.
Luria, G. & Berson, Y. (2012). How do leadership motives affect informal and formal leadership emergence?. Journal Of Organizational Behavior, 34, 995–1015.
Riener, G. & Wiederhold, S. (2016). Team building and hidden costs of control. Journal Of Economic Behavior & Organization, 123, 1-18.
Sendjaya, S. & Sarros, J. (2002). Servant Leadership: Its Origin, Development, and Application in Organizations. Journal Of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9(2), 57-64.