How a New Manager Can Turn Around a Demoralized Team

When a manager inherits a software team with low morale, the author first lists the observable symptoms: other departments criticize the team for frequent failures, slow delivery, lack of responsibility, and poor cooperation; some engineers are over‑worked while others sit idle with no clear tasks.

The author argues that the breakthrough lies in "winning hard battles"—delivering successful, high‑impact projects that restore the team’s reputation, performance, and eventually its benefits.

In his own experience, he took over a mixed PHP and Java team where PHP developers were busy but underpaid, Java developers were idle but well‑paid, and the core system suffered recurring issues, prompting complaints from test and product teams. He proposed a full refactor to improve system stability and boost morale.

After securing CTO approval, the refactor took more than half a year. The rebuilt core system became much more stable, product and test teams began giving positive feedback, and workload balanced as the team migrated to Java, leaving no one idle.

At year‑end, the author distributed rewards: a top PHP developer received a 3000‑yuan raise, performance grade A, a three‑month bonus, and a 13th‑month salary. He explains that the raise was processed via a simple Excel sheet submitted to the CTO and then to HR.

The author summarizes the key takeaways: win hard battles to earn recognition, and secure a larger share of year‑end compensation.

He stresses that a leader must find suitable projects, achieve concrete results, and thereby earn the right to share the “cake.” He also warns against staying in a purely administrative role; instead, leaders should be “super‑first‑line” and directly engage with product and user problems.

Quoting ByteDance’s Liang Rubo, the author notes that managers should regularly descend to the front line, reduce multi‑layer approvals and ineffective meetings, and focus on solving real business issues rather than building complex control processes.

Finally, the author concludes that regardless of the company or position, the ability to solve front‑line problems is essential for true leadership and for revitalizing a demoralized team.