Pokes and provocations

I was meeting with a CEO client this week and the conversation turned to productivity and time management.  Well, sort of.

What he said was:  "I'd get a hell of a lot more done if my staff didn't drive me crazy."

Owners and employees.  Managers and staff.  CEOs and mangers. Why can't they just get along?

The CEO's lament reminded me of a phrase I had heard earlier, which also related to managing relationships:  "Don't poke the crazy."  I wasn't familiar with that one, but I was with its ursine iteration: "Don't poke the bear," which is similar to "gets your goat."

Whether you anthropomorphize your anger or not, losing your cool, or vice versa, is counterproductive to effective management.  Just ask Rutgers University basketball coach Mike Rice.  The fallout from both the bad behavior, and the condoning of it, will leave a mark.

What drives you crazy and how do you deal with provocative behavior?   Understanding personalities -- yours as well as others -- is critical to successful leadership and motivation.   

Until morale improves

You may be familiar with the term cognitive dissonance,  the "psychological conflict arising from simultaneously holding two incongruous beliefs."

It is a theory that we all seek to "hold our attitudes and beliefs in harmony and balance" and when conflicts arise, we seek to restore our sense of harmony by reducing or eliminating the dissonant. The idea that spawned the theory is that we humans want "cognitive consistency" in our beliefs -- to believe what we believe, in other words -- and that need can lead to irrational and sometimes destructive behaviors.

This pop-psychology lesson is prompted by an interesting week in the pursuit of cognitive consistency in employee-related matters.   It was a somewhat futile pursuit:

• An employer who has bemoaned the quality of applicants for open positions, but who continues to seek candidates from the same talent pool using the same recruiting tools.
• Employees who decry micromanagement, but won't follow simple procedures and checklists designed to make their jobs safer and more productive.
• A CEO who was surprised when a senior staffer left after being passed over for a promotion, but who refused to discuss with the employee why they weren't being considered for the post.

Yup, it sure is hard to be an employer.  But you know what, it is also hard to be an employee.  How do some bridge the gap and remove the dissonance that is endemic in many of the disagreements relationships between boss and staff?  Many organizations are considered great places to work.  Is it as Tolstoy wrote of families, that happy workplaces share common traits, but that unhappy ones are unique?

Don't fear the reaper

Donald Trump insinuated himself into the American psyche and lexicon with his signature bellow: "You're fired." His show, The Apprentice, had a good run before, as with many things Trump, it descended into caricature, evoking petitions for The Donald himself to be axed.

While Trump's exterminator persona may have raised the eyebrows of kinder and gentler executives, not all disagree with his methods. One business owner I know advises:  "the best time to fire someone is the first time you think of it."

Unrealistic, pig-headed, cold-hearted and self- destructive?  Perhaps, (and word does get around about bad bosses these days) but terminating problematic employees is not a matter for the meek or mild mannered.

The above owner's snarky remark belies pragmatic thinking: if an employee is giving you reason to question their continuation, you'd better gear up for an exit sooner rather than later. A prepared mind, and all that.

 

Trump notwithstanding, I don't know any business owners who relish the task of relieving anyone of their livelihood.  However, I have personally witnessed instances of owners extending an employee's tenure to the point that their business was gravely affected.  Not just by the brilliant jerks, whose contributions often mask their destructiveness, but by those who are chronically under-performing, disrespectful, deceitful and, in some cases, criminal. Bad apples, in other words.

What to do?  Here's how to cowboy up, pilgrim:

• Document, document, document:    You may think it is tedious and unnecessary, but you would be wrong about the latter and immature about the former.  Did I mention write it down? Like, yesterday?

• Get good advice:  If you don't have an HR advisor or employment lawyer, don't be penny wise and pound foolish.  Talk to a pro. Stat.

• Process is your friend:  You must discuss issues with the employee, and detail a plan of remedial action.  Have a plan and procedure and follow-it. Don't freelance or improvise.

• Rehab your culture:  I have worked with a number of organizations who flourished after problem employees were exited.  This occurs only when and if owners allow an honest dialogue to occur after the dismissal.  These conversations, if conducted respectfully but openly, can rebuild trust that may have been lost through inaction or complacency.

No business owner likes admitting to a hiring failure -- it's contrary to entrepreneurial DNA -- and many take employee issues personally.  Get over it.  If you have an employee who needs to exit your company, you must act decisively and deliberately.  Chronic bad behavior that goes unchecked is a cancer within any organization.

Don't fear the reaper.