Episode 38: Shift the Negative Vibe on the Team

Frustration is bound to happen at work. And that frustration can lead to complaining or blaming. If we stay in the valley too long, we’re bound to drag people down with us. Well, that’s the focus of our leader’s question today. Let’s listen in:

“Our team usually gets along well. It’s still pretty good, but lately it seems there is more complaining, talking about each other and just general frustration. How can we keep a positive work culture when the vibe is getting negative?”

Let’s talk about what you can do to make a shift before the negativity habits settle in and create those ruts that get us stuck.

Get Curious, Stay Curious

Something has happened that has made you sit up and take notice of the shift on the team. Get curious about those things and start asking questions. 

One of the biggest challenges for us as leaders is to not make assumptions about and instead ask more questions to understand what’s really going on. The beauty of questions is they may not even know the deeper reason why they are frustrated. When you ask genuinely curious questions they learn something about themselves. And even that can shift negativity.

Think small...

it can feel urgent enough to want to do something big to solve the problem. Instead – think smaller! It doesn’t have to be a big thing to turn around the culture. Culture isn’t built in the one-day team building session. It’s built on the small things people do every day. So think small …

What if it gets sticky?

Now, here’s the dilemma. In asking your questions, you might uncover that there are some BIG reasons behind the frustrations and a small shift isn’t really going to solve the problem. You might have to step back and think a little of a bigger shift.

Bottom line, when people start complaining and negativity sets in – it means that something is going on below the surface and you’ll need to ask more questions to understand the felt need behind the negativity so you make the right shift.

Links to Check Out:

• Send your question HERE – in writing or by recording
• Annie’s Blog: What Employees Need: A Great Place To Work
• Annie’s Blog: Make Your Team Magic
• Episode 1: Asking Powerful Questions
• Episode 20: Back Pocket Questions To Save The Day
• Episode 30: Questions: To Ask or Not To Ask
• Learn more about Annie