Your team member is frustrated during a project meeting. How can you address their concerns effectively?

Active listening is the most critical part of communication. Frustration comes when you think that you are not actively listened to by your team members. To overcome this frustration, it is essential to listen carefully and fully involve yourself in the discussion. This means giving your undivided attention, acknowledging the speaker's points, and responding thoughtfully. By doing so, you not only reduce frustration but also foster a more collaborative and productive environment where everyone feels valued and understood.

Actively listening to their thoughts and concerns is an important first step. Frustration can mean different things for different people so it's important to acknowledge what they feel and for them to know that their perspective is valid. Have a genuine conversation where you ask questions to really understand where they're coming from, actively listening to different tones and pace and adjusting accordingly. Show them you are interested in understanding their perspective. Often, an opportunity to feel heard already eases up tensions and opens a path for resolution.

The first thing is to listen to understand their frustration instead of listening to respond or counter the frustration. Then, depending on the person's behavioral tendencies, and/or their communication preferences - I may ask if they just need to vent, or if they want to work on a solution. If it's a solution & once I have a firm understanding about their frustration, I often like to use some form of the Feel, Felt, Found framework a mentor shared with me some years back: - I understand how you FEEL (with a small recap showing that you actually listened). - I FELT similarly before (provide a short/small example so they know that you truly do understand). - Here's what I've FOUND (provide an example of what worked, or didn’t work).

Different approaches and/or opinions sometimes frustrate team members, and these situations must be promptly addressed to avoid negative impacts on team performance. I generally ask the person to remain behind for consultation, and after establishing a clear path of effective communication, I listen carefully to their specific grievance and provide empathy and feedback. I then evaluate with them different ways to approach and resolve the issue.