Reversing team member apathy is an important goal for managers and leaders alike. Many managers yearn to keep their teams satisfied on the job, and this goal is sometimes difficult to achieve.
Like job satisfaction, team member apathy is a multidimensional concept that encompasses how teams feel about work, co-workers, managers, their department, the company’s products, and (of course) pay for services rendered.
There are several ways to address team member apathy and one simple, yet powerful way has to do with how managers respond to suggestions and questions made by their teams.
A few years ago, while I was working at a high-tech company in the Silicon Valley, members of my software development department had some concerns about their work environment, culture, and their overall value to the company as perceived by the organization. The team had increasing worry about job security and the uncertainty of their work environment. Their attitudes toward these and many similar factors were negatively impacting their overall job satisfaction.
My fellow managers and I worked hard to improve job satisfaction by increasing the number of fun team events and outings where the budget allowed. However, while these things helped a little in the short term, they were not as effective as we would have liked in the long term. Eventually, the attitude of the team went from one of job dissatisfaction to one of apathy, which is worse because many of them stopped caring about what we were trying to achieve as an organization.
Many managers will agree that a favorable attitude toward work with an emphasis on overall job satisfaction is preferable to most people. And, in order to build a favorable attitude toward work, it is important for employees to feel invested in their jobs and feel like their input is valued. However, in my experience, managers say no to most suggestions made by the team as their first knee-jerk response.
Just the other day, a colleague told me that whenever he has a suggestion for some type of improvement at work, he starts off by making a few non-important suggestions because he knows that his manager will say no to them every time. According to my colleague, when the real suggestion is made, his manager is more apt to at least consider it because the manager has said no so often over the last day or so. It is probably safe to say that this, or similar types of subterfuge occur in many organizations.
Managers sometimes believe that their team members do not fully understand the repercussions of some of their suggestions, and therefore, the suggestions are politely (or not so politely) turned down. Team members become disenchanted with the direction of the department simply because they are not allowed to contribute to its direction. This is usually the start of job dissatisfaction within the department, or – even worse – team member apathy.
Assuming that this premise is indeed true, I have found that one good way to help reverse team member apathy is through the manager “learning to say yes” to most requests and suggestions by the team. This is not to imply that managers blindly say yes to all suggestions made by the team; however, where there are no negative budgetary or organizational impacts, then why say no?
When the manager says yes to some team member suggestions, the following usually occurs:
- Team members are pleasantly surprised that their suggestions were not only heard, but accepted.
- When their suggestions are occasionally accepted, members tend to believe that they are contributing to the direction of the department.
- The manager and team members start to build trust between them. This occurs because members believe that the manager is exhibiting more support for their suggestions.
- Team members tend to work harder towards achieving the goals of the department because they are actively participating in its direction.
- If the suggestion is truly not a good one, members have a better understanding of why this is the case, because it was tried, or – at the very least – the manager explained why the suggestion was not accepted.
Managers are much more likely to squelch team member apathy by occasionally saying yes to some of their staff’s ideas and suggestions. I have found that it works quite well as long as the manager takes steps to ensure that the implemented idea has no negative impacts to the budget or the overall team in general. I have also found that the staff is much more committed to the success of the organization because they are sharing in its direction when the manager says yes to some, if not many, of their suggestions.
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About The Author
Dr. Milton Mattox is a senior-level business executive, leader, and technologist who has worked with some of the world’s most acclaimed companies. An expert in software engineering, information technology, and quality process management, he continues to practice the leadership techniques and methodologies outlined in his books and articles to successfully increase return on investment for organizations and companies.
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