The Turnaround Leader: How to Save a Struggling Team

It’s not unusual for a team to go through a bad patch. It happens. Even the highest-performing sports teams don’t win every match.

However, if a team consistently struggles to meet targets or fails to deliver even the bare minimum results, it could be time for new management.

Being the person brought in to save a struggling team can be extremely rewarding, but it can also be a challenge. Here are some simple steps you can take to increase your chances of success.

Analyse the situation – where are you starting from?

The biggest mistake a new manager can make is rushing into change without taking time to understand the situation properly. Before you rush into any big decisions, make sure you understand your starting point.

Understand the team structure, responsibilities and processes

The first things you need to understand are the roles and responsibilities of your team, the structure, and the processes.

What work does the team do on a day-to-day basis? How is that work delegated? How are the results measured? How is the team structured? Do team members have individual targets? How do their roles fit into the wider organisation? How do members of the team communicate with each other? Is work done in siloes or collaboratively?

Get to know the team dynamic

As well as understanding what the team does, you need to get to know individual team members.  

Who are the top performers? Who is likely to give you the most problems? Who is most likely to support your efforts? Who needs support and training? Is anyone bringing the team down with negativity or bad behaviour? Who works well together? Are there any conflicts between team members?

Get to know individual team members

Spend time getting to know each team member. Encourage questions, and be open and honest about the situation that you’re facing. Listen to what they have to say about the situation.

What are their frustrations? What do they think the team does well? What do they think needs improving? What ideas do they have? What additional help and support do they need? What are their motivations and aspirations?

Find the positives

Identify the things the team does well – look for the functional in the dysfunctional. What works and how can you get the team to do more of it?

Starting with the positives will help you find the behaviours worth cloning. You’ll also find it easier to get a team engaged with change if you show them they are already part of the solution. 

Do a SWOT analysis

Once you have collected all the information and data you need about the team, complete a SWOT analysis.

What are the strengths and how can you build on these? What are the weaknesses and what can be done to improve these areas? What opportunities are there and how can you capitalise on them? What are the threats to success and how can you minimise or remove the risk?

Make a plan – where do you want to go and how will you get there?

Once you understand where you currently are, you need to decide where you are heading. What are the short and long-term goals? What are your objectives and how can you achieve them?

When a strategy is developed with a vision in mind, it is more likely to succeed – if you know where you are heading, you can plan the route. You can figure out the best way to get there, understand what you might need for the journey, and identify any potential obstacles that could get in your way. 

Communicate the team’s purpose and vision

A vision gives you direction, but you’ll be more likely to achieve it if you share it with your team. Sharing the vision helps individual employees understand how their roles fit with the big picture. Be clear about what the purpose of the team is and what the future looks like.

Involve team members in setting the vision and deciding what actions are required to meet your goals. Communicate the goals regularly so your team are reminded of what they are working towards.

Think strategically, tactically and operationally

While strategic planning focuses on long-term goals and company vision, tactical planning looks at the specific actions and steps needed to achieve those goals. Think of strategy as deciding the ultimate destination and tactics as the method for getting there.

There are a range of tactical models that can be applied to businesses of all sizes and sectors. These include Lean, Six Sigma, the 7Ps and Kotter’s 8-step change model. We cover these in more detail in: The Tactical Leader: How to Stay on Track to Your Goals

In addition to your strategic and tactical plans, you also need operational plans. Operational plans address the day-to-day tasks and activities required to ensure the business runs effectively and efficiently.

We look at how to improve efficiency and reduce waste in: The Operational Leader: Improve Efficiency in Everyday Processes

Decide what to measure

Making a plan is all well and good, but you also need to decide how you will measure success. What will your key performance indicators be?

It is important you measure the right things. Measuring the wrong things can cause you to go off track or, in some cases, lead to bad behaviours.

For example, if you measure speed rather than quality, employees might cut corners to hit their targets. That’s why it is crucial any individual targets align with the overall objectives.

Make incremental changes – aim for improvement over perfection

When you take over a struggling team, it can be tempting to implement big changes almost immediately in an attempt to “shake things up” or get some quick wins. However, this will often backfire and won’t have a lasting impact.

Turning a struggling team around takes time and patience. You won’t get perfection straight away and it’s unrealistic to expect it. Earn the trust of your team and build their confidence in you and each other. Instead of making big demands, look for ways to improve gradually. Start by making small, sustainable changes to the things your team do most often.

That doesn’t mean you won’t have to implement major changes eventually. You might have to restructure the team, remove a difficult team member from their role, or make significant changes to systems or processes. However, you don’t always have to make big gestures to get results. Little things can have a big impact.

Developing Leaders

As a manager or leader, there’s always something new to learn or a skill you can improve and develop. Organisations need to support managers and leaders in this development, but you also need to invest in yourself.

Getting formal leadership and management training will not only help you build your leadership skills, it will also help you grow in confidence, and increase your chances of career progression.  

Alternative Partnership delivers ILM-accredited Leadership and Management training programmes to support you and your teams in gaining formal, nationally recognised qualifications.

Find out more about our current ILM courses here or get in touch to discuss how our services could benefit you.

Have you read...

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The Reflective Leader: Using Past Experiences to Develop and Improve

06/01/2025

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