Managing difficult personalities, stalled productivity, and conflict are inevitable parts of leading a team. But how do you know if your leadership is part of the problem?

Melanie Parish says that many leaders see problems on their team as external without considering the impact of their own behavior on team dynamics. As she says, “There are so many different challenges. They circle. You have one challenge one week, and another challenge another week. That’s the work of leadership.”

Parish is a leadership coach and the author of the book, The Experimental Leader: Be a New Kind of Boss to Cultivate an Organization of Innovators.

She takes questions from listeners who are struggling to manage tough teams and offers advice for what to do when you lead a team that refuses to follow company processes or when your growing team of managers is clamoring to weigh in on key decisions. She also has suggestions for how to improve morale if your team is frustrated.

Key episode topics include: leadership, leading teams, managing people, collaboration and teams, organizational culture.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

Listen to the original Dear HBR episode: Tough Teams (2020)
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