Managing Conflict » Leadership

You will be judged. How managers fail to address workplace conflict.

Carol Bowser — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:29:44 +0000

Same song different day. “Carol, he is a good person. BUT he wants everyone to be happy and will not confront people and hold people accountable”

This statement drives me crazy!!! Why? Because it is what the folks a Crucial Conversations would call a “Sucker’s Choice.” That is a belief that people will either be happy or be held accountable.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE hear me! It is not an either or choice. In fact, it is one choice. Hold them accountable in a humane and predictable way by articulating your expectations. People will not be happy with you if they feel blindsided by allegations that they are not performing their jobs. While it is excellent that people are happy at their jobs, it is not the function of business or government to pay people to be happy. The function of work is work.

If managers, supervisors or leads are ALLOWING PEOPLE TO FAIL BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO UNCOMFORTABLE TO BE GENUINE WITH THEM THEN SHAME ON YOU!

Here is the good news. The conversation is likely not as uncomfortable as you imagine it to be. Talk about your expectations, your assumptions, and the benchmarks. Easy. The conversation is not about their personality traits or lack of skill, or other potentially demeaning stuff. It is about what the job is and requires.

Will there be push back. YEP. Especially, if you spring this on them. Instead do some prep work with the entire group so everyone is moving forward.

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Management Theory According to Honey Bees

Carol Bowser — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:28:12 +0000

The Perfect Worker"

I came across this interesting article on honey bees. What had me stop in my tracks was this quote by Beekeeper Jerry Webb, ” It [the hive] is a perfect society. You’re either useful or you’re dead”.

How much of management theory is in part based on this premise? Just wondering….

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Through the looking glass- What are you looking for and what do you see at work?

Carol Bowser — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:50:33 +0000

the looking glass

Here is something for you to ponder. I received it in an email this morning from a colleague:

In the morning my new mantra before I step on the floor to say good morning to my friends. I say to myself-

“Today I will look at this floor through the eyes of an owner.”

I find if I am subconsciously asking myself “If this was my building and my business, how would I see the things around me?”

In the evening I ask myself

“Did I do more good than harm today?” and “Why did I just answer that way?”

This forces me to “STOP!” and take a personal inventory of the day. If I am off track then I use that as my focus for tomorrow.

So how is your day going?

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Poking the Hornets Nest- How Motorola Let Emotions Get in the Way

Carol Bowser — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:41:41 +0000

“Sometimes emotions get in the way of judgment.” So says Richard Robbins, an Atlanta based employment law attorney. Robbins comments were based on the Wrongful Termination lawsuit that former Motorola CFO has brought.

Here is the short version. Motorola CFO made remarks during a Board meeting intending to rally the Board to action. It worked, but the Hornets went after him instead. The very next day, he was fired. He now is suing. So whose emotions got in the way of judgment? My educated guess is everyone’s over a long period of time.

For more of the details check out this article on Corporate Counsel Center . Frankly, I find it somewhat refreshing that SOMEONE has acknoweldged that emotions can impact decisions and that a breakdown of a working relationship can and DOES lead to bad stuff happening—even in the C Suite.

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The Collaborative Leader – What are the Keys to the Castle?

Carol Bowser — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:00:33 +0000

I am a geek for reading articles about leadership. Why? Because I hear over and over and over again from folks that they are desparate for their leaders to control, moderate, address bad stuff at work. So when I found this article from HR Executive online I stood up and cheered.

According to the authors (didn’t save that part of the article) six attributes that distinguish successful collaborative leaders:- Here is their list and my (sometimes snarky) comments.

Patience

Amen to that! But Patience for what??? Dealing with people most likely. Yet, how many executives actually, exhibit this so that the people feel it? Most people want others to be patient with them, but patient doesn’t mean sacrificing business objectives so that people have unlimited time “to figure it out”. Patience generally comes from the leader knowing what the answer is and giving the other person room to figure it out.

Collective decision-making

Yeah, just wish that there was more definition of what that was or that people had a shared definition of it or what it looks like in practice. Collective decision-making could be taking information from multiple sources or it could be negotiating a solution.
Quick thinking

One would hope so. My impression is that the “quick thinking” attribute relates to problem solving and not delaying making difficult-and perhaps unpopular decisions. Leaders know that “things will resolve themselves”.
Tenacity

A big Double AMEN!!! According to our friends at Websters’ on line, tenacity is a persistence in maintaining or seeking something desired or valued. I love that. I love that so much that you can hear me telling colleagues and clients that “you must be tenacious and deliberate in applying conflict resolution skills!”
Relationship building

YEP–becuase it is really hard to be collaborative with strangers becuase you don’t know what their interests are, if they are as smart as you think you are, or if they are telling you the REAL STORY- not just a PR spin.
and DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!

CONFLICT HANDLING!

Leaders lead by example. You may be the best business person ever, but if you can’t set the tone at the highest levels for how differing opinions and poor behavior is addressed, no one will follow you through a buffet line let alone a risky venture or a new initiative.

So … how do you stack up, as a leader? As an informal leader? Is there more to add to the discussion? Eagerly awaiting your comments…..

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