This month’s question is from a Deputy Director of a state Department of Transportation in the Northeast.
QUESTION
I have just put the top two managers (Division Chief and Assistant) of my busiest division on administrative leave for unprofessional behavior pending a review by the HR department. Their frequent personality clashes marked by friction, open disputes, and arguments over the past year have caused a significant decline in morale.
Recently they have had some very loud arguments and have been heard calling each the other some pretty nasty names. Not very professional!
Employees caught in the middle have felt they have had to “choose sides”, so there is stress and friction amongst the staff. I am having an all-hands meeting at the end of the week to hear their complaints and gripes.
My question is, “What would you put on the agenda to improve morale and help people get re-focused on work?”
ANSWER
Wow! This sounds somewhat like a hornet’s nest of complexity. In our recent phone conversation we discussed your high level of frustration and feeling that you are at your wit’s end with this situation. The issue has been escalating since the Assistant was hired, almost a year ago and in spite of multiple consultations with a multiple HR-type firms and attempts at a solution – coaching, testing and conflict resolution – the problem persists.
Key Issues
This situation actually represents several key issues:
- an organizational avoidance of conflict;
- onerous state personnel policies which impede quickly making a personnel change; and
- the impact of this ongoing conflict on the rest of the department.
Your original inquiry was focused on the rest of the staff, and that is where you can make the most impact at this point, so that’s what we’ll focus on here.
Initial Solution
The situation has been too disruptive and destructive for too long to sweep under the rug. We agreed that due to a strong systemic bias and fierce reluctance to confront conflict, early warning signs were ignored, the conflict was allowed to fester and exceed the point of no return. (Let that be a cautionary tale for others: ignoring an uncomfortable problem can lead to a much bigger, tougher problem.)
Regarding the Agenda for the “gripe and complaint” session, my reaction is essentially this: “Don’t do it!” Your initial thinking was that if people were are allowed to vent and get it off their chests, then the air will be cleared and people will become more focused.
My question about that assumption is if this is the focus for the meeting, then what will the employees be focused on after the meeting ends?
- Getting bogged down by the comments/complaints they heard?
- Dredging up more?
- Wondering why other comments that they are now thinking were not mentioned?
- Will they expect the same type of “gripe and complaint” (more commonly known as a b*tch session) as a strategy to address future problems?
I suspect that a singularly-focused “gripe and complaint” session would lead to a significant increase in water cooler conversation – which of course now amounts to endless hours on blogs, emails and twitter!
Alternative Solution
I have an alternate suggestion for you:
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Acknowledge just how difficult the situation has been, and how it has negatively impacted the work environment in the department.
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Ask them for their comments on how the situation has impacted them from a business perspective. (This is a spin off of the “gripe and complaint” session you wanted – however it is a short and VERY focused conversation!
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Own your responsibility and the responsibility of the levels of management above you if necessary -- for the missteps and bad decisions along the way that may have contributed to tolerance for or escalation of the situation.
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Steer clear of offering any information about the two people on Administrative Leave if no conclusions have been reached, other than the fact that they are indeed on Administrative Leave and you cannot comment further.
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Let them know that you are committed to making the changes in your own management style that will lead to resolution, regardless how difficult they may be.
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Remind staff that they are there to serve the state citizens, which they have done extraordinarily well in the past.
And that’s it. What’s done is done. The biggest bang for your buck is about what happens next.
Next Steps
Now, turn the focus of the meeting to the future. As we discussed, you can use the opportunity to begin to take the department through an Alignment session.
Team Alignment Agenda
- What is our Mission?
- What is the purpose for this team?
- What are our organizational priorities? (That will lead to accomplishing the mission)
- Define our Critical Success Factors
- Set clear measures and expectations
- Create or review your Guiding Principles
- Establish your Boundary Conditions - Discuss your department’s Scope of Authority
- Get very clear on team and individual responsibility
- * Review (or create) and commit to your Team Operating Guidelines – your norms and expectations for how you will interact with one another (*this is an important step for your department)
- As a department, establish, commit to & post your team Rules of Conduct
- Decide how your department will surface and resolve team and individual conflicts
- Review your strategic initiatives to make sure everyone is paddling in the same direction
- Create 30-, 60- and 90-day Action Plans to get past the current level of stagnation and get everyone moving again
- Make sure you keep your word, be consistent, and – I can’t stress this enough – Follow up.
Moving Forward
Set an example by being committed to making changes in your own management style. Enlist your mid-level and front line leaders so that they support your forward focus. A consistent message, sent frequently, is what staff needs to hear from managers. In our telephone conversation you mentioned that there were a couple of key individuals who had been very affected by this situation. The meeting will give you an opportunity to determine if one-on-one conversations may be helpful to retain them.
I think the key to the Team Alignment session is to communicate to employees the acknowledgment of what has occurred and why, a commitment to changing the situation, a plan to move forward, clarity on priorities, roles and expectations, and appreciation for their contributions and skills.
Certainly we all know that workplace conflict can be tough on morale and productivity. I hope this has been helpful.
As always, call Beth Chartier at 781-343-4008 to set up a time to talk to one of our senior consultants about this or any other organizational issue you are currently tackling.