Engaging staff, reducing conflict, and building adaptive leaders

A provincial healthcare organization had a team in crisis. Complaints about the manager had developed over time, absenteeism was on the rise, and productivity had decreased. Recognizing the importance of maintaining a healthy and successful team, Human Resources initiated two interventions to manage the situation.

The HR advisors used a questionnaire, like the Work Dynamics Profile, to analyze the work environment and the presence and significance of workplace factors that impacted the functioning of the team. A number of themes were identifed and two solutions were instituted.

It was recognized that the employee group had developed a non-cooperative style with each other that contributed to interpersonal conflict and reduced collaboration in the workplace. In addition, it was noted that the responsibility for the disruption was directed towards the manager who needed some tools and strategies to be effective in her leadership position.

Two solutions were implemented that included a group training intervention for the employees to increase communication and cooperativeness. This was developed and implemented by the HR team.

The manager was provided some individual leadership coaching that related to dealing with work overload, developing supervisory skills in some of her employees, employee engagement strategies, and managing work-life balance.

A few months later a new survey was implemented that showed significant reductions in interpersonal conflict among the team members. Moreover, the manager was now seen as a true leader of the group. The manager's health improved and her day-to-day enjoyment and job satisfaction increased dramatically along with her managerial effectiveness.

Consultants from Gilbert Acton Ltd. worked with this company at a variety of steps in the process and took a key role in coaching the manager.

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