{"id":16463,"date":"2018-06-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.planview.com\/keeping-team-morale-high-during-difficult-times\/"},"modified":"2018-06-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T05:00:00","slug":"keeping-team-morale-high-during-difficult-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.planview.com\/keeping-team-morale-high-during-difficult-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Team Morale High During Difficult Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <!-- .post-meta --><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is a normal part of professional life that an organization or specific team might go through difficult times. This could be major restructuring which results in layoffs, a breakdown in relations that leads to a lot of team members leaving or one of those periods where, for whatever reason, many clients leave within a short space of time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.planview.com\/clarizen\/wp-content\/upload\/2018\/06\/9-Morale-1.jpg\" alt height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Understandably this can create uncertainty, anxiety and low team morale among those left to carry on the work. As a project manager, one of the key responsibilities during these times is to be able to pull everyone together, boost team morale and keep the team focused on what still needs to be done. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are many different ways to boost team morale during difficult times and the best project managers will use the ones which suit their personal style the best. Here we look at some strategies you can use to help your team get through a rough patch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Communicating the situation<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When a lot of negative things seem to be happening to the team or organization, the office rumor-mill goes into overdrive. This can leave stakeholders fearing for their situation and greatly damage team morale. The best way to address this is by being as <\/span><a href=\"\/project-management-stakeholders\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">transparent with your stakeholders<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as possible about whatever&#x2019;s happening that concerns them. Also try to answer their questions as fully as possible. If your team has a clear idea of what&#x2019;s going on they will be less likely to have unfounded fears and more likely to trust your leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Listen to your team&#x2019;s concerns<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While letting others know what is going on is helpful, what&#x2019;s also important to enhance trust is to take the time to hear your team&#x2019;s concerns. By airing these problems in the open, their worries can be addressed, and staff will feel they are being taken into consideration throughout the processes which are happening. They may also prove a significant resource in overcoming difficulties through suggesting solutions to current problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"content-cta\">\n<div id=\"content-cta-text\">Increase your business agility with Planview AdaptiveWork&#x2019;s project management software<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-cta-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/resource\/product-tour\/\">Take a Product Tour<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>Show appreciation for your team&#x2019;s efforts<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Monetary bonuses are not the only way that you can <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/teams\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">recognize the effort your team members<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> are putting in. Especially if times are tight and wage-cuts or layoffs are being discussed, taking team members aside to individually thank them for their contribution can mean a lot. Try to be as specific as possible rather than just giving a general thank you, to show that you have actually noticed the work they have put in rather than just giving empty platitudes. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Lead by positive example<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Team members look to you for guidance and to know the project has direction. If you start to panic, it will become amplified and spread throughout the team. Even if you may be personally worried about what the future holds it is important to demonstrate to all that you are in control of the situation and capable of applying yourself to the tasks at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the saying goes, &#x201C;pressure creates diamonds&#x201D; so how you deal with difficult times is also an opportunity to prove your capabilities as a project manager. To boost team morale on such occasions isn&#x2019;t always easy, but by understanding the needs of your team and leading by example, you can make the best out of a bad situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"client-logo\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/customers\/\" title=\"Siemens Energy\"><img class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.planview.com\/clarizen\/wp-content\/upload\/2020\/08\/siemens_energy-200x100.png\" alt=\"Siemens Energy\"><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/customers\/\" title=\"IIROC Success\"><img class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.planview.com\/clarizen\/wp-content\/upload\/2020\/07\/IIROC_logo-200x100.gif\" alt=\"IIROC Success\"><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/customers\/\" title=\"Financial Services Institution\"><img class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.planview.com\/clarizen\/wp-content\/upload\/2020\/04\/FINANCIAL-SERVICES-IMG-200x100.jpg\" alt=\"Financial Services Institution\"><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/customers\/\" title=\"M Squared\"><img class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.planview.com\/clarizen\/wp-content\/upload\/2020\/03\/m-squared-logo-200x100.jpg\" alt=\"M Squared\"><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/customers\/\" title=\"Aliancys Success\"><img class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.planview.com\/clarizen\/wp-content\/upload\/2019\/12\/aoc_aliancys-logo-800x400-200x100.jpg\" alt=\"Aliancys Success\"><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarizen.com\/customers\/\" title=\"Bonfiglioli Success\"><img class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.planview.com\/clarizen\/wp-content\/upload\/2019\/11\/bonfiglioli_logo-800x400-200x100.jpg\" alt=\"Bonfiglioli Success\"><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is a normal part of professional life that an organization or specific team might go through difficult times. This could be major restructuring which results in layoffs, a breakdown in relations that leads to a lot of team members leaving or one of those periods where, for whatever reason, many clients leave within a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pmo-project-management-organizations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.8 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Keeping Team Morale High During Difficult Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Every team or organization will go through difficulties at one time or another, here\u2019s how to keep heads and morale up on those occasions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.planview.com\/keeping-team-morale-high-during-difficult-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keeping Team Morale High During Difficult Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Every team or organization will go through difficulties at one time or another, here\u2019s how to keep heads and morale up on those occasions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.planview.com\/keeping-team-morale-high-during-difficult-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Planview Blog\" \/>\n<meta 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