How This IT Team Couldn’t Change Their Culture and Communication Until They Changed Where They Sat

Oct 8, 2020 | Executive Coaching Blogs, Hot Mess Hotline Podcast, Workplace Communication

Mike Loggins and I discuss how to improve communication within a team on this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline. When it came to team communication strategies, Mike had some ridiculous ambiguity on his hands.

Mike used to believe that if the leadership of the organization just designed the best processes and bought the newest technology then, voila, there will be transformation and cultural change.

Here’s what it really takes: thinking from a new perspective. Mike and his team figured out that those beliefs were short-sighted and the current strategies weren’t effective. But even after this realization, their work wasn’t finished. Some people changed, others didn’t, and those that embraced change became overburdened.

Problems escalated beyond where they should, with top leaders being brought in to handle conflict that should have been taken care of by the immediate mid-level management. Furthermore, the leadership didn’t know what team communication strategies would be most effective or how to build trust at work among the conflicted teams.

Mike even encountered a situation where one manager went behind his back to bring in a new unapproved system. This manager didn’t understand what Mike had learned: tying success to a shiny new tool instead of determining the root cause of the problem will ultimately not work. Rather than help his team, this manager delayed success and caused conflict with Mike.

Listen to this episode of the Hot Mess Hotline to learn how Mike’s team initially tackled their change initiatives, then listen to part 2 of Mike’s interview here where we talk about how to really improve communication within a team and how Mike made quick but ultimately very impactful change on a low budget.

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About Mike Loggins

With 20+ years of experience as an IT leader, I have been integral to strategic business alignment, performance acceleration, customer success, & standardizing global IT operations. As an influential leader, I have effectively led 300+ IT professionals worldwide to steer the direction of the corporate vision concerning the critical need for modernized IT operations. It is my passion to utilize my visionary approach to consistently pioneer change, advocacy, & critical IT involvement while also focusing on marketplace positioning for accelerated ROI.

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