At work, we are motivated to climb up that ladder of success where in most times, set our minds so much on the goal of succeeding that we do not leave any room for failures and disappointments.  However, setbacks are a natural part in our careers and happen in all workplaces.  

Setbacks happen for a lot of different reasons, and they can take their toll on us if we allow them to.  Sometimes failures jump on us from behind and take us by surprise. We may think that we did everything we can, from preparations to the actual procedure, but we still lost that client or project.

In my town, Brisbane, these scenarios are nothing new. They can happen in schools, workplaces, or anywhere where teams put in all their best efforts for a presentation that cannot be any less than perfect. They spend countless hours over something that became a failure in the end.

Encouraging your employees after a setback can be very difficult.  As experts say, helping a team of people is tougher that helping a single person to cope.  It requires understanding, patience, and the ability to think past the exact emotions you actually feel.  You also will have to understand that when the team handled that project.  Each one of the employees had different levels of perspectives, motivation drivers, and expectations. Even when it comes to the efforts that they have invested in that project, you cannot expect that all of them has put in the exact level of effort as the other.

You may feel bad about it, considering how much that failure had cost the company, but employees may feel a lot much worse.  At stake with that project were their jobs and their future.  After that failure, they could lose everything they were holding on to at the moment.  And as their team leader, your job is not limited to handing out and assigning tasks, and keeping track of their performances.  It is also your job to embrace a failure, assess it, and motivate your employees to help them bounce back from it.  Here’s how you can do it.

Photo by Tom Pumford on Unsplash

Give them time to wallow

Just as when someone goes through a difficult ordeal in life, we cannot just tell the person to move on from it without acknowledging the hurt and negative he or she must have felt at the time. Allow them to analyze the situation in their own for some time. It makes them think critically without your prompting and inputs.

Talk about it

A failure cannot just happen without being dissected and discussed. Since they are meant to be there to help teams learn and grow, it is best to gather your team with you and talk to them about it. Much better, be direct with your words and avoid sugar coating them.  Avoid saying the phrases, “looking at the bright side…”, “we’re lucky this and not that happened…”, or “we made a mistake…” They may sound consoling but they are not a direct hit at where the problem really was. Identify at which point the project failed or where you and your team missed so that you can avoid doing the same mistake the next time.  You need to let them know to make them see and understand.

No blame games

In your meeting with the team, emphasize on where the problem is to blame and not on who to blame.  Make it clear to them what the problem was, but avoid singling one person out and humiliating him or her.  After this, then you may speak with that person or group of people in the privacy of your office.  Additionally, keep things in a neutral tone. Make him or them know the gravity of their mistakes but do not attack their character. Again, make them understand the importance why you need to discuss this with them – to lay out the consequences of a mistake to the whole group and project, that it should not happen again, and how these things can be avoided. You can ask the employee or employees why the mistake happened and their inputs on how these can be avoided as well.

Although feeling down and unmotivated after a failure is a natural reaction, it should not be that way for long. As a leader, the team will need you to be strong enough to handle such negative circumstances, and they need your guidance to learn and move on from it. Remember that your reaction and feelings are way more contagious to the whole team rather than a fellow team members. The process of learning and moving on has to start with you, the leader.

About The Author

Gemma Reeves is a seasoned writer who enjoys creating helpful articles and interesting stories. She has worked with several clients across different industries such as advertising, online marketing, technology, healthcare, family matters, and more. She is also an aspiring entrepreneur who is engaged in assisting other aspiring entrepreneurs in finding the best office space for their business.

Check out her company here: FindMyWorkspace

From changing an office’s layout according to cutting edge architectural principles to ensuring that all staff members get to know each other in team-building sessions, modern companies have shown a willingness to explore the many ways in which company culture can be improved.

It has been proven time and time again that a higher level of employee satisfaction leads to an increase in productivity, not to mention a more pleasant atmosphere in the workplace as well.

In order to achieve these higher levels of productivity however, a company has to put a significant effort into building a corporate culture that supports employees and their talents.

Companies can use different methods to motivate individuals and encourage them to reach their potential. Here are some alternative methods being used in modern workplaces.

Look after their physical and mental well-being

By and large, the contemporary work setting is defined by its lack of dynamism. Most people today sit and work on their computers for hours on end, progressively atrophying their bodies over time. Studies have shown, however, that even light exercise is instrumental for fostering engagement and creativity, which is why companies stand to gain a lot from installing the likes of standing desks and workout rooms. In addition, the mental part of the well-being equation can be addressed by introducing various games in the workplace that encourage creativity and problem-solving.

Consider providing quality meals

You are what you eat. The importance of a healthy diet is undeniable, which explains why so many people seek to improve their eating habits. In the workplace, smart companies have already taken to providing their employees with quality meals, either free or at a discount, in order to encourage proper nutrition at a company-wide level. What’s more, eating together is also a boon for team-building purposes as people bond with each other during their lunch hours.

Foster their entrepreneurial spirit

A company is only as successful as its employees allow it to be. And fewer things are more integral to success than possessing an authentic entrepreneurial spirit. This kind of attitude and approach should be welcomed at all levels of an enterprise. Show that you genuinely strive to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit of your employees by encouraging personal projects and seeking their opinion on matters related to the company’s activity.

Encourage them to take time off

Finally, maintaining a high level of productivity has everything to do with knowing when to step back in order to replenish energy. With the ultimate goal of empowering their employees in mind, some companies have started offering them unlimited vacation days, considering that people should judge their own needs for rest and relaxation. However, this approach has also led to the promotion of unhealthy workaholism, as some employees ended up taking less time off than before. Since such attitudes are actually counter-productive over the long run, take steps to teach your employees about the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

As you can see, there are certain things that any company can do in order to support its staff. Ideally, they could all be implemented. However, in the real world, where companies are limited with time and budgetary constraints, it is rare that a company is able to follow each and every of the steps mentioned above. To show your will and commitment to your staff, enacting just one or two can still go a long way towards improving the overall well-being of your employees.

Here at HRwisdom we talk a lot about how to find, hire, retain and nurture talented people for your business.

However, sometimes things go a little astray.

For those occasions, we thought you might appreciate this well-presented explanation from Get Voip of the main types of particularly difficult employees.

The Different Types of Difficult Employees [Infographic]

Here’s some of what you’ll discover:

A 2013 study found that in 42% of surveyed companies, low performing employees reported higher levels of engagement than their high-performning peers. They were also more likely to report their company as a “great place to work.

Difficult employees indeed . . .

For excellent free HR advice and resources, visit the HRwisom home page.