Lead and manage team effectiveness
Order Description
Refer to the scenario where you are the leader for a geology team at Global Mining Resources.

At Global Mining Resources your team of geologists have been busy creating the feasibility study into a new exploration site in northern South Australia. The work has been a very large project that started 18 months ago with the team spending six months on location taking drilling samples and analysing them.

Of the six geologists and three administration staff that currently form the team, two geologists are new as is one administration person. All the others have been on the project since its inception. Up until now the team has got on well together, seemingly communicating well and resolving any differences with minimal effort. However, you have noticed lately that there has been some trouble. The difficulties in communication seem to have started since a new geologist joined the team, management gave indications that world affairs might have a serious impact on whether the project could be funded or not and you changed some allocation of team tasks.

Specifically the communication issues have been:
a.The monthly progress report had a section missing and, when you questioned the authors about it, it turns out that each thought that the other person had done it.
b.Two team members have made comments to you that they think that the new geologist ‘thinks that they know it all’ and is very irritating to work with.
c.You have overheard comments from a couple of team members to the effect that there is no point doing a good job on the report as management have already written it off. Comments were also made that there was no point talking to you as you always sided with management.
d.The new administration person is not completing their tasks on time and seem to be overwhelmed by what they have to do. You have seen them ask the other administration staff for help once or twice but despite their efforts they are still very slow at their work and seem reluctant to ask again. When you ask them if they need help, they say that they are fine.

Some of your team are feeling despondent about the direction they think the company will be taking as a result of a worldwide slump in commodity prices. As a result they are not putting 100% into the report and their productivity has suffered. You have reason to believe that they might be actively seeking work elsewhere.

You have spoken to the individuals concerned and determined that they do have very real concerns that came about from their own newspaper reading and interpretation of the economic climate. Their concerns were also compounded by a throw-away comment that the CEO made during last month’s whole of staff meeting and a decision by executive management to delay issuing the next financial year’s forecasts.

Despite your best efforts to allay your team member’s fears, they will not be placated and you are very concerned that the team could disintegrate. You decide to raise the issue with the CEO.

Describe what you say and how you broach the subject in order to raise the concerns sensitively but also that result in a satisfactory outcome for all parties. (250–500 words)