Fix Your Broken Team: 8 Turnaround Tips for Sustained Success

Read Time: 3 minutes

History is littered with elite teams that underperformed. 

Sometimes, teammates get lazy watching their superstar (aka The Ewing Theory). Other times, individual talent doesn't add up to the collective output, or there's a mismatch between the people and the system. In extreme cases, a toxic leader might drive the team to ruin. 

Regardless of the cause, the new leader is stepping into a mess. They're expected to have the answers to shape the future and quickly inherit the burdens of the past. 

I stepped in to lead broken teams a couple of times. Once, a team was gutted in a RIF. Another was when a leader had been scandalously dismissed. 

Here are the levers I pulled to orchestrate those turnarounds. 

Honor the Past

There's an old legend that Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev wrote two letters for his successor. 

"When you get into a situation you can't get out of, open the first letter, and you'll be safe. When you get into another situation you can't get out of, open the second letter." 

When his successor found himself in a corner, he opened the first letter. It read, "Blame everything on me." So he did, and it worked like a charm.

Later, when he got himself into a second situation he couldn't get out of, he opened the second letter. "Sit down, and write two letters."

I found this did more harm than good. I didn't need to lay more blame because it had already created consequences. Instead, I needed to show that I valued the people who had endured to get us here. 

Yes, we'll lead them down a better path. But don't diminish the effort that brought us to this point. 

Exercise the Demons

If you want your team to leave the unwanted baggage behind, you must name it. Hoping they'll "just know" leaves too much to chance. 

It could be a losing strategy, an outdated process, or even employee behaviors. You want to get specific about what stops here and enlist their help rewriting the new ownership manual. The more they help co-author the new rules, the more likely they will follow them. 

Own Your Part

You may not have been the cause, but there's a chance you were complicit. In one of my two cases, I was too slow to act. And I knew if I wanted the team to trust me, I needed to own this failure. 

Note: In extreme cases, consult your HR department. In an effort to build trust, you don't want to accidentally build a case. 

Reset the Target

With the book closed on the previous chapter, it's time to write the new one. And the most important question you can answer is, "What does excellent look like?"

We need to paint that picture as visibly as possible. I ask the team to look 6-9 months into the future, imagine everything went our way, and describe what they see. 

• The outcomes we delivered

• The way we interact

• How they feel

Coalescing on this destination gives the team a fixed point to calibrate against when making 100 micro-decisions daily. 

"Does this decision move us toward or away from our shared target?"

Revise the Behaviors

We often skip this part, but it's vital. We share a vision of where we're going, but do we also agree on how we'll get there. 

It can be tempting to use empty corporate jargon:

• Act like owners

• Strive for excellence

• Always have integrity

There are two problems here:

1. The sum of your team's behaviors is your system. If you don't know what your system requires to win, how can they?

2. These common phrases cause an illusion. We believe they create shared understanding, but everyone defines them differently. 

Take the time to state your culture in sharp terms. 

Reinvent the Rituals

Rituals are sacred repetitions that bind a team together. They create a sense of belonging and purpose. As you revitalize your team, consider introducing new rituals that drive your most uncompromising behavior. 

Consider this doubly important if your team is remote. Since you won't be able to observe the behavior organically, you need to engineer it. 

Respect the Iterations

Change doesn't happen overnight. It's a process of iteration, with progress often following a "two steps forward, one step back" pattern. As a leader, it's essential to demonstrate accountability and grace simultaneously. 

Celebrate the wins, no matter how small, and use the setbacks as learning opportunities. Keep your team focused on the bigger picture and remind them that every iteration brings you closer to your goals.

Build a Culture of Trust

Change always resets trust lower. Assuming trust is effectively zero is a safe bet if you're stepping in after hard times. 

The fastest path to build it back: Do what you say you're going to do.

With every step above, you set an expectation, a standard. Each and every day, you have to be the first to meet that standard. Trust is built by what you do, not what you say. 

What You Missed

Here are a few posts that got outsized attention this week.

• Diagnose Problems Bridgewater Style 

• My 3-4-5 ChatGPT Prompt Method for Leaders

• Don’t Accidentally Demotivate Your Team

• The Origin Story of A Modern Mom-and-Pop Shop

• How 83% of Our Leaders Got Their Development Reimbursed

The ChatGPT post really seems to have struck a chord.

Thank you for reading. Appreciate you!

Dave

PS - We know it’s our true fans who read to the end. And many of you are considering our next MGMT Accelerator. If hopping a quick call would make you feel more comfortable making the investment in yourself, grab a time.