When the Structure Shifts: How to Support Your Team Through Uncertainty

Change is hard - supporting your team doesn’t have to be.

When the structure of your organisation changes, so does the emotional landscape of your team. Even with the best intentions, functional restructuring can lead to uncertainty, blurred roles and a sense of disconnection. Supporting your team during this shift isn't just about systems, it’s about creating clarity, trust and a sense of belonging.

The Reality of Functional Change in Public Services

We’re seeing this across the sector - staff juggling increased complexity, changing expectations, and renewed focus on agility. At one university, for example, faculty leaders are reshaping how teams work across programme delivery, assessment and communication. While logical on paper, this change introduced unexpected friction - not because of people, but because of process, ownership, and the emotional load that comes with change.

It’s a familiar story across the public sector. Teams want to collaborate, but they need a shared framework that supports role clarity, human connection and adaptive leadership.

What Makes Structural Change Feel Hard

Functional restructuring affects more than tasks - it impacts:

• Identity: Who am I now in this team?
• Connection: Who do I turn to for clarity or support?
• Agency: What am I responsible for, and what can I influence?

Without tools to address these shifts, managers are left to shoulder the uncertainty, and teams risk disengaging.

How a Strengths Lens Helps During Transition

A strengths-based approach helps teams:

• Recognise where they do their best work
• Identify what energises them - especially during change
• See others’ value more clearly, reducing territorial thinking

This isn't just good practice - it’s backed by research. Teams that know and use their strengths show higher engagement, adaptability, and long-term resilience¹.

Related: How to Build a Team That Thrives in Uncertain Times

3 Practical Moves to Support Functional Restructuring

1. Create Shared Language Early
Use team development sessions to explore:

• What motivates us
• What’s working
• What we value in how we work

This creates a human foundation for clearer collaboration.

2. Use Discovery Tools During Transition Points
Our Discovery Workshops help surface:

• Individual and collective strengths
• Ways of working that energise
• Patterns that might cause tension

Teams that do this have integrated this into peer reflection and PDRs - small changes, big impact.

3. Equip Managers to Lead With Confidence
It’s okay not to have all the answers. But managers need tools to:

• Ask the right questions
• Create safe space for uncertainty
• Reflect with their teams in motion

Also see: Holding It All Together? How Managers Can Navigate Change Without Burning Out

How Strengthify Can Help

We work with public sector teams to strengthen collaboration, trust, and resilience through change. From one-off Discovery Workshops to longer-term team development support, we help teams adapt with confidence, not burnout.

• Team Development Workshops

• Discovery Workshops

You don’t need perfect answers during change - just a way to help your people feel seen, understood and ready to move forward together.

¹ https://www.apa.org/topics/healthy-workplaces/psychological-capital