When an organization has a significant reorganization, conventional wisdom is to curtail all team building. While it makes sense on paper to pause before regrouping, there are real dangers in choosing to keep employees in the dark—relationships can become frayed or fractured, tempers can flair, top performers may begin looking for other opportunities, closed-door meetings can be seen as suspicious, and people can become frozen for fear of making any mistakes. From R|L’s experience, it is common for productivity and performance to drop significantly during a downsizing.
The reality is that team building during reorganization can erase fear. It’s an opportunity for the company to focus on indispensable core skills, key products, and services. This helps to ground the remaining leaders on what needs to be addressed immediately. Team building helps shift the focus from an uncertain present to an obtainable future. Use reorganization as a time to brainstorm alternative ways to expand marketing channels and creatively seek new uses for products and services.
Focus and rally your team. Ask employees for inventive ways that everyone can be more innovative for the growth and profitability of the organization. Ask them: “What is the one thing the company can do now to help employees accelerate their performance?”
Written by: Clyde Lowstuter
About the Author
Clyde Lowstuter, MCC
President & CEO | Master Certified Coach, Robertson Lowstuter, Inc.
Clyde is a peak performance Executive Coach and CEO of R|L. He has been a visionary thought leader and pioneer in the field designing and leading corporate coaching and team building since 1975. From an early age, he was fascinated by the differences in why and how people thought, felt and behaved. He deduced that Authenticity, Accountability & Behavioral Agility are foundational to success. Read Full Bio
