How should I deal with team friction?
May 23, 2012 5:09 AM   Subscribe

There is friction building within a team. Is it time to shuffle the team?

I have a small manufacturing company. Our staff is almost exclusively female.

One of my teams is made up of staff who have been with the company a while. I put a younger staff member in charge as a team lead. She has done an excellent job but lately there seems to be friction between the more senior workers and the lead.

Also, this team is isolated in a room from other staff, coming out on during breaks.

What's my next step to deal with before it escolates? I am thinking of rotating the folks on this team out and on to other teams. Any other ideas?
posted by pxharder to Human Relations (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Years and years ago when I was fresh out of college I was put in charge of a team of about twelve people. I was the youngest person there by a solid ten years, and was moved into the team lead slot within a year of joining the company, while the other employees had been there much longer than myself.

There was a lot of friction because A) I was young and B) I was new. In my situation I just dealt with the friction by being fair and doing the job as well as I could. I wouldn't say that the people there ended up embracing me with open arms, but productivity was consistent, and I was able to deal with the people acting slightly rudely to me without much hassle. So, that being said, if the team lead is handling the job and the friction isn't causing productivity problems, I would probably let it play out. If productivity is faltering, then you might want to second guess the promotion of the team leader, as they apparently aren't able to do their job.

In a small company if you start moving people around because of a perceived problem, you run a risk of making the problem worse than it actually is, in my opinion.

Then again, since you didn't really elaborate on what the problems are, it is hard for me to say. Are they cursing and screaming at each other? Are they just generally discontented that someone else was promoted rather than themselves?
posted by Literaryhero at 5:24 AM on May 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Agreed we need more information. Why was the current lead chosen? Has she said anything to you? Have the others made specific comments to you? Do any of the comments from the lead or team have merit based on your observations/experience? Have you tried speaking with the lead to advise her of the situation?
posted by smirkette at 5:44 AM on May 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


It may be necessary for you to have a meeting with them all. Convey to them that you have selected this team leader because you have faith in her skills and you expect that in a professional atmosphere, everyone in the room is able to conduct themselves properly. The object of being on the team is to produce. Regardless of who the team leader is, everyone has a part in the production and should do their job to the best of their ability. If there is a personal problem, that should be set aside because there is no place for that in the workplace. If there is a work-related issue, then please present that (to you) and you will address it. In the meanwhile, everyone get to work!
posted by Yellow at 6:09 AM on May 23, 2012


This really depends on what the source of the friction is. Is the employee you put in charge unable to maintain her authority? Is she unable to handle the pressure of being in the lead, or is it the senior staff members below her who are unable to accept that she is in charge?

Maybe it would help to sit down with the team lead and say, "I've noticed some tension in the team and it's affecting our performance. Give me your side of the story." That way you reassert that she is in charge and bears responsibility for the team's performance. See what she says and try to understand where the problem lies.

Then you can go to each team member individually and say, "we've been having problems, I want you to know that Team Lead is tasked with leading this team, and we need to work together to follow her lead," etc. etc. Do this in one-on-one meetings where individuals might feel more comfortable expressing themselves.

I think that shuffling the team around should be a last resort. You don't want to give the impression that you don't have faith in your own appointed team lead.
posted by deathpanels at 6:24 AM on May 23, 2012


Yes, if you are the boss, you need to understand the source of the friction, and address it directly yourself instead of through passive-aggressive confrontation-avoidance means.

There really isn't enough information about what the friction is, or how it is showing itself to give any specific advice, though.

I wouldn't go shuffling the team.. that is a last resort, as mentioned - not only does it hurt the team lead but can have a significant effect on everyone's morale.
posted by rich at 7:38 AM on May 23, 2012


Hey, if you can shuffle and give everyone a fresh perspective, why not? You don't see anyone as being a good guy or a bad guy in the situation, it's just time for a change.

Sometimes teams settle into dynamics and the diminishing returns make it so that cutting losses is the best way to handle it.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:42 AM on May 23, 2012


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