It is crucial for managers to advocate for their team in a deliberate and intentional manner to promote a positive work environment. In meeting with executive leaders, managers should prioritize the needs of their team as a whole in order to be optimally productive. 

However, sometimes executive leaders can be a bit out-of touch on the day to day details of teams activities. Unrealistic expectations can lead to burnout, turnover and massive inefficiencies, producing problem areas for all levels of an organizational hierarchy. 

To better analyze the impacts of this situation, consider Alex who is a manager of a mid-size team at a large accounting firm. Alex’s superior is Sophia, a director, who is responsible for eight groups similar to Alex’s across the office. In meeting with his team, Alex realizes that his team has been asked to work significantly more hours this past month compared to previous months. In continuing the conversation, Alex is stunned to hear that many members of the team have felt overworked and exhausted over the past month. Individuals on the team voice their concerns and request for a reduction in work, lowered expectations, a clear plan to help them achieve some semblance of balance, or a combination of these outcomes. 

Now, Alex must meet with Sophia and explain the circumstance, while trying to demonstrate that this is not a representation of ability or willingness to work, but a result of the psychological safety and productivity expectations set for Alex’s team. 

When Alex has his meeting with Sophia, there are a couple of important factors he should keep in mind in order to find the best results for his teams productivity and contributions to the company. Rather than beginning the meeting with an accusation of overworking employees or assigning too heavy of a workload, Alex should explain this situation to help Sophia better understand the effect on the team. 

When Sophia begins to discuss the new work assignments for this month, Alex could ask a question like “Where should this be on the priority list?” This question respectfully points out that his team is working on several assignments and puts the responsibility on Sophia to recognize the tasks the team is already working on. Additionally, this gives Sophia an opportunity to explicitly state what the main focuses are, enabling Alex to prioritize these goals across his team. In any circumstance, it is crucial for managers to advocate for their teams while still prioritizing the needs of the business. 

Here are 5 tips for managers to be better advocates for their direct reports: 

Encouraging communication enables managers to better understand their direct reports. Through increased communication, managers should be able to find fixes and suggestions to improve the experience, lives, and workload of their direct reports. For example, in the scenario above, Alex’s team could have previously shared their feelings of burnout and exhaustion, allowing Alex to discuss with Sophia in advance and better plan the workload for his team. Communication between managers and their direct reports will optimize productivity and quality of work throughout a team. 
2. Collect Feedback

As always, a crucial part of success in a leadership role is collecting feedback. If managers work to collect constant feedback, they will better understand the lives of their direct reports. Managers could consider utilizing software such as AIM Insights to collect continuous feedback on performance measures and goal attainment. With a tool like this, managers can view the work put in by their direct reports and alter expectations to meet the needs of the team and business. 
3. Set Goals

Setting goals sets an expected standard for a team. With these goals, members of the team can have a better understanding of the work they should be inputting. In the case of Alex and his team, if he had set an hours-based goal for the team, these members may not be experiencing such burnout. Setting goals is a great method of communication for managers to set clear forecasts for direct reports. In practicing SMART goal setting, managers could consider using software such as AIM Goals to help set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely goals. 
4. Use Quantitative and Qualitative Data

In serving as an advocate for their team, managers' use of employee data and feedback is an extremely impactful tool for guiding a discussion. In the case of Alex and Sophia, Alex should bring the monthly productivity or hours worked reports as a demonstration of the work that his team has been inputting. With this quantitative data, Sophia will better understand the pressure and workload put upon these individuals. 

5. Prioritize Work-Life Balance & Psychological Safety

In working as an advocate to create an ideal team environment, it is crucial for managers to put work-life balance and psychological safety at the forefront of their focus for teams. Psychological safety focuses on ensuring a compatible and inclusive environment in the workplace and throughout teams. With psychological safety prioritized, individuals will feel encouraged and valued to share their opinions and thoughts, even if they oppose those of the group. In focusing on promoting work-life balance and psychological safety, managers should work to lead a team that values learning from mistakes, innovation, sharing ideas, and setting transparent goals for growth.

Serving as an advocate is not easy. It is challenging for individuals to represent and speak on behalf of others but, working in the best interests of their team, advocacy is a crucial component of leadership. In learning to advocate for other individuals, it is essential for professionals to prioritize transparency and accountability along the process. Additionally, if managers feel they need additional assistance, they should consider joining an executive mastermind group. Joining an executive mastermind group allows individuals to discuss scenarios with leaders with similar experiences in the workplace. As always, managers need to remember that change may not happen immediately and will take time to see the effects across a team. However, when individuals feel valued within a team, they are more likely to demonstrate increased job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Serving as a representative for a team is an integral component of leadership and allows great opportunities for managers to grow as well.

Nearly every individual will at some point in their career face an ethical dilemma. Whether that question comes from a superior or direct report, these decisions take a significant toll on mental health, psychological safety, and burnout in the workplace. 

Ethical concerns can take place in a variety of ways. Every ethical question is not as extreme as fraud or lying on financial statements but, ethical dilemmas can be seen in everyday workplace experiences. For example, consider Kelly, who is a senior manager at a large sales firm. Executives of the firm are expecting to be acquired by a much larger company and thus, are pushing for increased sales and revenue from Kelly’s sales team. Because of this, Kelly’s team members are pressured into making one-time sales so the acquirer notes better results for the firm rather than the more accurate, transparency of the expected revenue. How do these decisions affect the health and psychological safety of these parties?

To begin, these employees are now subject to immense stress to make sales, which will likely negatively impact psychological safety and contribute to burnout. Additionally, these individuals' psychological safety and mental health may be negatively impacted if they have to confront their manager or miss a sales goal. If there are pay differences due to falling short of a sales goal during this time, these individuals may become significantly dissatisfied leading to impacts on mental health, psychological safety, or even turnover. On the other hand, Kelly is now stressed and concerned that her team will not meet these sales goals and, she is concerned about what the acquirer will find once they are bought out and the sales decrease. 

Once the firm is bought, many parties may see an adverse effect from the inauthenticity of the sales revenues. For example, the purchasing company may move forward with laying off or letting go of employees because the sales projections based on the perceived recurring revenues right before the sale of the company (which turn out not to be recurring and therefore shouldn’t be in the projections) are not met. Additionally, the purchasing company may potentially alter the compensation structure of the employees, negatively impacting their motivation to work if compensation is based on inaccurate data, these sales goals may be challenging or unachievable for these employees. For example, sales and performance quotas based on projections that aren’t based in consistent results.

If Kelly approaches Michael with this ethical concern, she may see unfavorable effects, especially moving into a merger or acquisition with the firm. In discussing this sensitive matter, it is crucial for professionals to be extremely cognizant of the surrounding environment to find the right time and manner to discuss a concern without becoming accusational or placing blame on superiors. Here are 5 tips for discussing an ethical concern with a superior:

In bringing up concerns about a sensitive topic, it is crucial for individuals to maintain objectivity and avoid placing blame on the superior. For example, in the aforementioned situation, Kelly may ask to schedule a meeting and begin by saying she is concerned about how sustainable the sales are. This statement does not place blame on Michael or suggest that he is acting unethically. Rather, this statement brings up a sincere concern. Additionally, this statement does not bring up the variety of negative effects that may be possible in the situation but just focuses on the one main concern to be addressed. Kelly may also not realize the pressure Michael is under and that he might not have been the person that decided to fluff up the sales numbers but was instead following orders.
2. Propose Solutions

Continuing in the meeting with a superior, leaders should be cognizant of their attitude and propose potential solutions to move forward with. These solutions should be constructive and should directly address ethical concerns. For example, Kelly should consider offering solutions to the situation of sales data representation. Perhaps Kelly can head a new and sustainable marketing campaign for current clients or, suggest a different way to encourage sustainable sales in this situation. 
3. Highlight Possible Consequences

If Michael needs additional convincing to approach this ethical concern, Kelly should consider bringing up possible negative consequences, backed by data. For example, Kelly could share that if sales are to drop after the acquisition, her team may be downsized or, brand reputation or morale may have negative effects for the team moving forward. In this area of the conversation, individuals need to bring concerns that are sincere possibilities with adverse effects and, avoid blame placing. Being empathetic to the superior will always help both parties better understand the other and how to best move forward. Kelly could also acknowledge who benefits from having inaccurately boosted sales numbers, their proximity to everyone else at the company, and who may face consequences after the sale is completed.
4. Encourage Open Dialogue

In these discussions with a superior, managers should be considerate in finding a comparable solution for the superior's objectives to be met in a more ethically sound manner. In Kelly's case, suggesting possible solutions and then asking for feedback or other ideas to find a compromise of the way the problem is approached and the objective solution that is best for the company. Managers in this situation should also listen carefully to the superior to find any other information or data that could help find an ideal solution to move forward with. 
5. Seek Guidance

Finally, managers should consider seeking guidance in moving forward with an ethical concern. To find help, managers can consider a variety of methods. First, the manager could reach out to the firm's human resources. But, leaders should be conscious that these individuals may be required to report potential problems or concerns within the company. If an individual is seeking some mentorship outside of the firm, they should find a horizontal mentorship program or an executive mastermind group. These programs focus on building relationships with peers in other organizations at similar levels or, with more experience. Being able to privately discuss concerns with other professionals is a fantastic resource for effectively approaching sensitive topics. For example, Kelly may benefit from a horizontal mentorship by speaking with a sales manager at a different firm and learning more about how to best approach the situation from an outside perspective. This method also works to reinforce psychological safety that promotes open discussion and conversation. 

Although challenging, voicing concerns about ethical topics is crucial for companies to maintain their cultures and positive work environments. And, as leaders, managers have a responsibility to represent their direct reports and work in their, and the company's best interest. In this pivotal role, individuals can become stressed and overworked so, it is necessary for leaders to maintain clarity and thought processes in decision-making processes that will affect a whole team. 

The onus is on leaders to establish trust within a team and foster the best-fit culture. But, building a company culture with a foundation of trust requires commitment and constant communication from leadership. When expectations are met, trust is built. Although seemingly simple, many leaders may struggle with clear communication expectations and setting realistic goals for their direct reports, thus diminishing the trust being built and detrimenting the growth of their team. To set realistic goals, leaders must focus on honesty in expectations and, work to limit unrealistic optimism about the outcome of projects or goals. While setting high goals can be a great motivator, unrealistic expectations discourage direct reports from working towards high standards.

Finding the balance of achievable expectations is extraordinarily challenging for leaders. In working towards direct reports meeting expectations, here are 10 tips for leaders and executives to improve their team culture and build trust:

Managers and team leaders' indirect actions are key communicators to their direct reports. Managers' commitment to meeting expectations and holding up their end of responsibilities creates a culture that values accountability and builds trust based on past experiences. Leaders set the tone for the whole team, if leaders put trust in their direct reports, their team may autonomously flourish and grow. Leaders' practice of trust will create a ripple effect throughout the entire organization allowing for tremendous growth and innovation in teams. 

2. Set Goals

The best way to encourage direct reports to meet expectations is to set clear, SMART goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. When setting these goals, teams, and leaders must collaborate and follow each letter of the acronym for maximized motivation and ability to meet the expectations. In setting goals, consider the use of software such as AIM Insights that will provide continuous feedback for growth. The best tool for establishing these goals is a collaboration between executives and their direct reports to find a realistically attainable goal without jeopardizing the work-life balance of any team member. 

3. Encourage Open Communication

Open communication is essential for the development of trust. Leaders must be deliberate in effectively communicating with their teams promptly. With open communication, direct reports are better equipt to meet and exceed goals. Managers should consider sharing decision-making practices and promote open discussions that will encourage a community feeling. Trust in a team where individuals know that the managers value their contributions and work in the best interest of the team will see tremendous growth. 

4. Set Accountability Standards

Accountability is a key aspect of establishing trust within a work culture. Over time, direct reports meeting expectations build trust in company culture. Holding individuals accountable for mistakes and errors along the way, without scrutinizing them will work to build a company culture foundation of trust. Open discussion of errors or shortcomings will allow individuals to learn from their mistakes, build trust, and, allow executives to learn how to better their team. Trust cannot only be built on exceeding and meeting expectations but in honesty through shortcomings and errors along the way as well. 

5. Practice Consistency

An important factor in establishing trust is consistency and predictability. With executives in decision-making processes, leaders must practice a process of consistency to build trust with direct reports. Inconsistencies in leadership build a culture of uncertainty and fear within direct reports. With a lack of reliability, direct reports will not be meeting their fullest potential and may be negatively impacted by fear or uncertainty within their team. 

6. Emphasize Team Building

Team building, in and out of the office is imperative to build a culture with trust. Team building enables individuals to see their co-workers as friends, and builds a community with camaraderie and morale that will encourage collaboration and success. Getting to know peers allows individuals to build connections and trust with their teammates. These connections will not only improve trust but, will improve accountability and collaboration amongst direct reports. 

7. Establish Recognition Norms

Regularly recognizing individuals who have met or exceeded their goals builds a system of appreciation and will further encourage success within a team. With a regular practice of acknowledging individuals, management can express the value of hard work and determination. Sharing team members' success will greatly improve trust and morale within a team's culture. Additionally, recognition can serve as a great motivator for direct reports to meet their goals and expectations of managers. When a company creates a culture that communicates how valued each employee is, turnover will decrease and a team community will be built. 

8. Promote Psychological Safety

As always, managers must consider the psychological safety of their team environment in working to establish a productive culture. Psychological safety builds an environment centered around valuing individuals and building trust. Any individual on a team may detriment to the psychological safety that is built, from managers to direct reports. In this instance, managers should focus on building an environment that values individuals and their contributions which will build mutual trust for both management and direct reports. 

9. Limit Jargon

A crucial factor in building trust in a team environment is to be clear and honest in all communications, including limiting jargon and phrases that are intentionally indirect. To establish expectations and build trust, leaders must be transparent with their direct reports. The same holds for recruiting practices. In recruiting, leaders should be clear in their communication of the expectations and culture of the team, avoiding phrases such as “work hard, play hard” that create a confusing expectation of the work environment. 

10. Empower Team Members

Members in teams with trust should feel empowered to succeed and excel with the support of their peers. Managers working to build trust should focus on empowering direct reports to meet expectations independently. Direct reports sense of belonging and support from teammates will enable individuals to meet and exceed expectations with the help of their peers. Building a culture that values inclusion will create a safe space for members to productively fail and find great success.

In establishing a culture of trust, leaders need to recognize that the results may not be noticeable overnight. Building trust takes time. To build trust, leaders need to provide ample opportunities for direct reports to meet and exceed set expectations while still maintaining a productive team culture. In creating attainable expectations, trust within a team will unlock growth and collaboration, leading to great success. 

In 1998 Daimler Motor Company Group (now Mercedes-Benz) attempted a merger with Chrysler Corporation. On paper, Daimler-Chrysler was a perfect combination. Daimler and Chrysler brought price points for different target audiences and their respective leaders had high hopes for a successful merger of the companies. Internally, Daimler had a vertical structure with enforced hierarchical roles while Chrysler used a horizontal structure with less formalities. The two entities split shortly after because they could not find a mutually beneficial culture or compromise the two hierarchical structure approaches. 

Finding the perfect team culture is challenging as is. Combining with another entity only creates additional battles for managers to face. Finding ways to maintain team or group culture through organizational changes puts a further burden on executive leadership and team managers within companies. 

In learning to deal with this new, unique workplace challenge, here are ten tips for managers in leading their teams through organizational changes:

Using the four normative stages of team development, leaders should allow teams to autonomously develop and grow into a culture that fosters specific team values. Allowing teams the time to go through the stages of forming, morning, storming, and performing to find the best-fit roles can be a daunting challenge for hands-on leaders going through organizational changes. However, by enabling new teams to flow through these changes, they will develop a productive team environment that allows a team to be efficient and effective.

2. Practice Effective Communication

Effectively communicating in times of change enables leaders to collect feedback and grow from two-way communication with their direct reports. Leaders practicing active listening will be able to voice employee concerns throughout the process of organizational change. On the flip side, leaders effectively communicating with their direct reports will provide clarity and reduce resistance to changes within a company. 

3. Use Inclusive Decision Making

In management decisions, allowing direct reports to voice concerns and opinions whenever possible will improve adaptability and allow for creative solutions that will satisfy all levels within an organizational hierarchy. Ensuring that team members feel heard and valued will foster a team culture that is beneficial to employees and executive management. Inclusive decision-making empowers company leadership to adapt from direct reports' experiences when undergoing an organizational change in addition to whole team efforts to creative problem solving that will be most beneficial to sustaining the organization's culture. 

4. Develop Employee Support Programs

If managers find that certain employees struggle with organizational changes, they should consider developing an employee support program. This may be as simple as having a point person for employees to direct questions to or creating a guide of all expected changes and how the firm will adapt. Unexpected changes create anxiety for team members that some may struggle to overcome. In dealing with anxiety in crucial conversations and organizational changes, managers need to practice caution and 

5. Prioritize Psychological Safety

In addition to developing employee support resources, a necessary concern for management should be the psychological safety of all professionals in the organization. Psychological safety can be a largely impactful aspect of an individual's ability to adjust to organizational changes and to maintain the most beneficial culture for the company. To maintain an environment of psychological safety, managers should focus on clear communication and allowing individuals a safe environment to grow and learn with the company. 

6. Foster Cohesion

In going through a merger, acquisition, or general organizational changes, establishing an environment that fosters cohesion and camaraderie can make a drastic difference. Facing changes as a united front will communicate support and community to all direct reports, especially those struggling with finding their place in organizational changes. A cohesive group also creates a safe environment for direct reports to voice concerns, opinions, or opportunities for growth. 

7. Set SMART Goals

A smart goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Managers setting team-wide SMART goals will provide realistic and effective areas for professionals to concentrate on when undergoing hectic changes that frequently disorient teams' progress. Setting SMART goals with continuous feedback is essential for the stable growth of an organization undergoing foundational changes. 

8. Celebrate Success

Celebrating successes through an organizational change brings a variety of benefits to the team working to maintain their group culture. Specifically, celebrating success at all levels will boost team morale and work to reinforce the best practices before and throughout big changes. The ability to reinforce best practices will highlight values, behaviors, and achievements that are best for the organization. In addition to moral support, acknowledgments of individuals' hard work and dedication throughout the process.

9. Collect & Utilize Continuous Feedback

The collection and use of continuous feedback is crucial to sustaining an organization's culture through large changes, mergers, or acquisitions. In collecting this feedback, consider using a platform such as AIM Insights that will aid in setting SMART goals, finding measures of feedback, and collecting the feedback year-round to provide opportunities for continuous growth across all hierarchical levels in an organization. 

10. Seek Guidance

If a manager feels that they need additional support for guiding a team through a foundational organizational change they should consider finding additional support and guidance. First, leaders should consider joining a horizontal mentorship group that will create an environment for executives and managers to speak to other professionals at their level for collective feedback and learning. Additionally, if managers feel that they need additional guidance in aiding their team, they should reach out to their company's human resources department. The HR professionals will likely have developed guides or tools that will help teams practice flexibility and adapt to continuous changes within a firm. 

Addressing organizational changes is a unique challenge with unique experiences for every team. Although a daunting challenge, managers have the tools necessary to sustain organizational culture throughout times of change. It is crucial to collect and use feedback from direct reports as the most impactful tool for determining a team's next steps, growth areas, and opportunities for learning or development. In supporting teams through organizational changes, leaders can boost employee engagement, hopefully improving job satisfaction and commitment. 

Everyone experiences times of nervousness and anxiety. It's human nature and, it's contagious. Many struggle to manage these feelings on their own and unmanaged anxiety can lead to rash and spontaneous decision making. Impulsive communication and decision-making will foster an internal feeling of urgency that others mirror which may spread across groups and offices creating immense stress and anxiety for all levels. 

Anxiety can stem from a variety of sources. Specifically in the workplace, anxiety can stem from: poor workplace culture, unclear expectations, too heavy of a workload, conflict with superiors, organizational changes, job insecurity, lack of control, or imposter syndrome. Additionally, managers' words and actions have a higher impact on creating or mitigating anxiety due to their hierarchical position and perceived power within an organization. Similar to the effect of stress or anxiety in an individual's personal life, workplace anxiety can cause a variety of problems such as sleep deprivation, poor work performance, body aches, or physical ailments. Within teams, managers may have a hard time identifying causes of anxiety, or worse, managers may be the cause of anxiety within a team. 

Leaders “venting,” gossiping, or complaining to their team members creates a different culture that fosters anxiety and worry for team members, usually leading to a counterproductive work environment. Once a team leader begins complaining to their teams about executive management, timelines, the work environment, or other team members, their direct reports become uncomfortable in the workplace and anxious about their performance. 

Similar to anxiety, gossip is a detriment to the work environment and is certainly contagious within the workplace. Both productive and counterproductive work cultures can foster and spread gossip across a team or office. Many feel the need to gossip to be “in the know” or to protect themselves from any potential conflicts within a group. Gossip encourages judgment, cliques, and toxic work behavior that may undermine the success, camaraderie, or expansion of teams. Moving into a psychologically safe and comfortable work environment, managers must reduce any occurrences of gossip and spreading of misinformation to create an environment that values every individual team member. 

To better understand the ripple effect of gossip and anxiety, consider Trish who is a partner at a large accounting firm. Trish has been facing struggles with the corporate office creating unreasonable timelines for completing projects and, Trish is becoming frustrated with a professional on her team, John who submits unfinished and unpolished reports. Trish is feeling anxious due to a heavy workload and a lack of support from her team. Trish decides to vent about her challenges with the corporate office to Leo, a manager in her team. Now, Leo is self-conscious about his performance and focuses on overworking and taking on extra responsibilities, eventually leading to burnout. Also after their conversation, Leo begins to lose faith in their company and has decreased organizational commitment to their firm. Throughout the next week, Leo discusses his feelings with other team members, leading to a spread of stress and anxiety in the workplace. 

As in the above example, venting and crucial conversations can lead to a spread of anxiety team-wide which exponentially grows, creating an unproductive work environment and negatively impacting the mental health, work-life balance, and personal lives of team members. If managers are feeling anxious or overworked, they should consider finding a new channel. Potential outlets may be horizontal mentorship, executive mastermind groups, or coaching opportunities that provide a safe space to share challenges. 

Horizontal mentorship enables leaders in similar positions to share issues they are facing in the workplace and creates an open environment to learn from peers in lateral workplace roles. Opening new opportunities to grow and learn in a dynamic environment catered to the specific problems faced in the workplace makes horizontal mentorship a great tool to reduce anxiety and gossip in the office. 

Executive mastermind groups serve as a peer advisory service that allows leaders to share a problem they are facing and receive feedback and advice from executive-level professionals. Through Ambition In Motions Executive Mastermind groups, leaders can find horizontal mentorship, peer advisory resources, and experiences that support individual and team learning which in turn, helps to reduce managers' stress and anxiety. 

Finally, managers may consider executive coaching opportunities to improve their team environment and mitigate causes of anxiety. Ambition In Motion offers both team and individual coaching to improve communication and productivity team-wide. In an executive coaching program, individuals are paired with an experienced coach who aids in setting SMART goals and, creating a process for collecting and analyzing measures of success for these goals. 

In working to reduce overall workplace anxiety, managers should concentrate on reducing gossip within the workplace. Gossip fosters cliques, damages professionals' reputations, erodes trust, and spreads misinformation which will eventually detriment workplace morale. Gossip in the workplace may also lead to unnecessary conflict and a decline in productivity. 

Even with understanding the implications of workplace gossip, it is still challenging for a manager to control or decrease gossip in the workplace. Managers working on decreasing gossip in the workplace should focus on leading by example. Building a cohesive team that promotes collaboration and communication will work to decrease gossip throughout a team. In having a more collaborative team, misinformation will be challenging to spread because direct reports will build a community and embrace camaraderie within the team.

Other steps to reduce gossip in the workplace may be to set clear expectations about professional behavior or to host a seminar explaining the negative effects of gossip. With clear communication, individuals will be less likely to spread misinformation. However, if a manager feels that their team needs additional guidance, they should always communicate with human resources and find out about other tools or resources available to leaders and team members for the betterment of the team.