Discover how managers can bridge the gap in a divided workplace. Explore three effective strategies that foster unity, promote collaboration, and enhance productivity. Let's delve into the role of leadership in creating a harmonious work environment.
Workplace division can hurt productivity and affect culture
Reorienting your people around purpose and development creates unity
- Employee recognition reaffirms an organization’s shared values and goals
- Recent Gallup polling shows that the American public is almost equally divided into thirds among conservatives, moderates and liberals when it comes to social issues
- Our divisions not only threaten daily productivity; they also threaten the trust and social bonds that managers have worked so hard to cultivate on their teams
Honor the interpersonal
Managers should lean into the interpersonal part of managing to deepen team bonds and strengthen engagement
- During the pandemic, Gallup saw a marked increase in completed surveys over the phone and on our Gallup Access online platform.
- This suggests that people want to talk. They want to share what’s going on at work and in their lives.
Use recognition to promote accountability
Once we’ve rallied around our common cause and honored individuals by listening to them and helping them craft brighter futures, we still have a need to regularly bring people back to their performance expectations
- Ongoing employee recognition is a great tool for creating social habits that point to our shared values and goals
- It’s a reminder of our performance standards, celebrates people who role model excellence, and gets the conversation moving toward how we can all be our best in the future
Reset and rally around your shared purpose
The turmoil of the pandemic has created a perfect opportunity to undergo a “team reset” – a time for your team to step back and reimagine what they want to be known for and how they will best work together going forward.
- A team reset is an opportunity to identify your purpose – your true north – and strengthen your team identity.
Lean into development
Everyone needs goals in their work life that keep them focused and striving to do their best work
- Development is your best tool for keeping employees focused on working toward a bright future in a way that’s highly individualized to them
- Ensure every team member has a clear development plan and career path
- Communicate more
- Be honest about what you don’t know and what’s not working
- Embrace experimentation
- Re-dream the future
