Helping BabaLegal Overcome Conflict and Double Output

TL;DR

Imagine a team environment where meetings are often tense—motivation is suffering, and big-picture progress feels impossible to achieve?

That was a the vibe at Baba Legal, a 7 person Legal team that was stuck in a cycle of unproductive conflict and sticky collaboration.

Communication had broken down, and solving things felt very like an uphill journey.

We helped a the team turn things around by focusing on clear communication, creative thinking, and supportive leadership.

Now they’re working together more smoothly, tackling challenges with confidence, and enjoying their work again.

Some team members didn’t buy in and left, and while it seemed frightening at the time, this cleared the path for the ‘right’ people to join, and even for previously underperforming staff to prosper.

Positive Outcomes

• Improved Teamwork: The team began collaborating more effectively, with less friction.
• Enhanced Communication: They developed clearer, more open communication, reducing misunderstandings.
• Increased Motivation: Leadership efforts re-energized the team, boosting their commitment.
• Better Problem-Solving: By embracing creative approaches, they found new ways to tackle challenges.
• A More Positive Team: By the end, the team was more connected, with a noticeable increase in morale and camaraderie.

The Challenge

The team needed a way to reconnect, improve their communication, and regain focus. To tackle these challenges, we applied our expertise in team alignment, facilitation, and communication.

• The leaders felt under-served, like they couldn’t find ‘good’ people.
• Despite repeat ’training’ the same errors kept occurring
• When leadership tried to learn about the source of the errors, the answer was often: “I don’t know”

On the other hand, the staff was also feeling frustrated, under-appreciated, overworked, and generally stuck.

We changed that! Over a period of six months, and with only bi-weekly interventions, we:

• Facilitated conversations to align on what is important to everyone
• focus on those items
• removal of obstacles ranging from system issues to interpersonal dynamics.

Together, they moved them from frustration and energy drain to productive teamwork.

Our Approach

Our experience is that human systems (i.e. teams) naturally self-correct, as long as the self-correction is not obstructed.

What causes those obstructions? Pretty much anything that creates power dynamics, politics, or imbalance. Essentially: unsafety.

The symptoms are often frustration, feeling stuck, either a lot of conflict or no conflict (neither is a healthy balance), and generally, ongoing fear of negative consequences as a result of honest expression. Almost always, communication is cited as one of the key issues.

What did we do in this case?

• Getting Everyone on the Same Page: We helped the team organize their work in a way that reduced confusion and frustration, making sure everyone was aligned.
• Creative Problem-Solving: We introduced fun exercises that encouraged the team to think differently and brainstorm new ideas together.
• Open Communication: We facilitated regular conversations and feedback, helping the team communicate more clearly and understand each other better.
• Supportive Leadership: We worked closely with the team leaders to help them create a more positive and supportive environment for everyone.

Implementation Process

Over six months, we met with the team every 2 weeks. Here’s what we focused on:

• Weekly Check-Ins: We held regular meetings to discuss what was working and what wasn’t, making necessary adjustments along the way.
• Fun Activities: Each week, we introduced simple exercises to help the team discover how they work best and how they can better support one another.
• Leadership Support: We offered ongoing guidance to the team leaders, helping them navigate challenges and keep the team focused.

How did it turn out?

In Their Words:

“We were going through a lot of internal issues. Our team vibe and the way we managed things were not as clean as we would have liked.

With Mitch, we’ve really focused and made the changes we needed to make. We feel more confident. Now our processes are much better.

Everyone knows what to do and does it well. We’ve improved in the way we treat each other, the way we approach problems, and the way we are training.”

 — Karim Baba, Owner