Leadership Caffeine: Coping with Workplace Critics

April 4, 2011 By 7 Comments

Rule #17: If the flak is heavy, you’re near the target.  (No flak, no target.) From Management Lessons of the Memphis Belle copyright: Eric Lieberman and Paul Byrne

I’ve yet to accomplish anything worth a damn when I didn’t have a fair number of critics lined up and all too happy to tell me why I was out of my mind. It’s a fair bet you’ve seen this before as well.

In my experience, the more audacious and creative the idea, program or strategy, the more vocal the critics become.

“We can’t do that.”

“It will never work.”

“We tried that three years ago, and it didn’t work then and it won’t work now.”

Or the old standby, “You’re out of your mind.”

A Fortune 50 client of mine has a sign in their learning center that reads something to the effect of, “You’ll be told No too many times to count.  Keep pushing for what you believe in or we’re in trouble.”

I love that!

The Destructive Power of Workplace Critics:

If you’ve ever found yourself suddenly under fire from one or more sources for an idea or program, you recognize how annoying and potentially destructive the criticism can be.  And I’m not talking about someone offering a good, objective alternative viewpoint, I’m talking about the global criticism of your initiative and attempts to discredit you in the process.

The worst of the critics seem to thrive on sewing doubt and pushing others off-balance. It’s a form of bullying carried over from the playground days.  The location has changed, but the tools of the critic’s trade are well honed from years of practice.  Rumor, innuendo, disparaging comments, and in-your-face attacks are all tools of the critic’s trade.

Critic or Devil’s Advocate?

It’s important to differentiate between the useful, formal role of Devil’s Advocate and the Office Critic I’ve described above. The Devil’s Advocate is supposed to poke holes in ideas and challenge groups to look at the world through a different set of eyes.  Proper devil’s advocacy isn’t about derailing or destabilizing.  It’s about challenging people to think harder and to look in different directions. Executed properly, the person playing the role helps identify potentially flawed decisions or directions and encourages fresh thoughts.

The Critic’s motives are often political or at least selfishly personal. Change represents stress and work for the critic. Worse yet, it provides an opportunity for others to see beneath the painstakingly constructed illusions that many corporate critics work so hard to foster about their own contributions.

5 Ideas for Coping with Workplace Critics:

1. Always check the view from the critic’s perspective. I’m all for understanding the views of others…including critics.  If someone has a different way of looking at things, I want to try and get a glimpse of the situation through their eyes.  It’s unlikely you or I have thought of everything, so, take the time to learn from even your harshest critics.

2. Invite a Critic to Your Table. On occasion, a critic is someone who hasn’t figured out a more elegant way of asking for a seat at your table.  Your willingness to provide a seat might build a new ally.  Just don’t count on it.  And there’s a bit of truth in the notion of keeping your enemies close at hand.  Besides, good groups are pretty effective at self-policing.

3. Duel with a Critic, But Only on Your Terms: I observed as a great idea person (who happened to be a master politician) effectively maneuvered her biggest critic into a bake-off.  Idea versus idea.  Political capital versus political capital.  The critic had nothing but bluster and blather and was effectively vanquished in the court of project team opinion.

4. Shrug Off the Critics. (That’s my polite form of, “Don’t let the bastards slow you down.” In my experience, the naysayers tend not to be those holding decision-making power.  Build your coalition and your support with those that control the resources and the decision-making power and you effectively neutralize critics.

5. Deliver on your ideas. Nothing silences critics like success.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Your path to project or career success will likely be filled with obstacles, setbacks and in some cases, people not particularly interested in seeing you succeed.  A good colleague uses the barbs of her critics as fuel for her own performance.  “Every shot they take helps me work that much harder to succeed.” Certainly taking strength from unfounded criticism and unqualified critics is much more effective than letting it get to you.

And remember:

-“You’ll be told No too many times to count.  Keep pushing for what you believe in or we’re in trouble.”

-“Rule #17 If the flak is heavy, you’re near the target.  (No flak, no target.)”

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Art Petty coaches, trains and speaks on leadership development, high performance team development, feedback and decision-making. Drop Art a note to talk about a workshop program, speaking opportunity or coaching need.

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career, Leadership, Leadership Caffeine, Leading Change, Professional Growth, Project Management Tagged With: , , ,

Management Week in Review for January 28, 2011

January 28, 2011 By 4 Comments

Note from Art: every Friday, I share three thought-provoking management posts for the week. Fair warning: I take a broad view of management, so my selections will range from leadership to innovation to finance and personal development and beyond.

This week’s selections feature content on dealing with difficult people, learning and avoiding the pitfalls of inexperienced management teams, and recognizing the need as leaders to appeal to the hearts of the people on our teams.

From Jennifer V. Miller at The People Equation, “Dealing with People Who Suck.”

Jennifer always leave me thinking, and her post this week fits in wonderfully with my own “dealing with difficult people” theme here at Management Excellence this week. You will quickly recognize the subject of this post…and perhaps you have one of these “Human Hoovers” sitting near you at work. What’s the right response to these individuals who missed out on the day when “reciprocity” was taught in grade-school? Read the post to find out!

From the post: “But there’s a shadow side too. There are those few people for whom reciprocity seems a foreign concept. They’re like the Human Hoovers of the workplace—sucking up all they can manage to get in the name of self-interest. Vacuums are a very effective appliance to use at home, but a real pain to have to deal with as a co-worker.”

From Steve Tobak at The Corner Office, “Top 10 Pitfalls of Inexperienced Management Teams.”

As I mentioned in an earlier Week in Review piece, Steve is on my “must read every post” list. In this one, he describes his view on some of the most common missteps of inexperienced management teams when it comes to scaling their businesses. He appropriately caps off the post with an indication that experienced managers might just have their own set of unique and equally dangerous pitfalls. Experienced or inexperienced, the “Top 10″ are real and important to avoid.

From the post: “Now, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone the unique growth experience of learning from his own mistakes, especially the wisdom and humility that only failure can impart on the executive ego. That said, savvy managers listen to the voice of experience. They may choose to ignore the advice, but they still listen. Information is power, forewarned is forearmed, and all that.”

From Jeffrey Pfeffer, writing at HBR Blogs: “Is Obama Gaining Power with Every Speech? (Are you?)

I interviewed Jeffrey last summer at the time of release of his latest book, Power-Why Some People Have it and Others Don’t, and have been a fan ever since. The topic is relevant for all of us not only for our success, but even our health, as Pfeffer highlights in his book.  His take in this latest post on our need as leaders to move others by appealing to their hearts is an important one. While the focus is on the President’s latest speeches, he provides some interesting parallels t0 other successful business leaders.

From the post: “Business speech is surely not, on average, more stirring than political speech. It consists mostly of the language of rationality presented in forms that go on too long and benumb rather than inspire employees. But the business leaders who stand out show the power of breaking that mold.”

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OK, that’s it for the week. Enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back Monday with a fresh cup of Leadership Caffeine.

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About Art Petty: Art coaches high potential professionals and develops and delivers  workshops and programs on leadership, professional development and building high performance teams. Contact Art to discuss your needs for a program or keynote.

And whether you are an experienced leader seeking to revitalize and develop as a professional, or, a new leader looking for guidance on starting up successfully, check out Art’s book with Rich Petro, Practical Lessons in Leadership at Amazon.com.

Filed Under: Career, Leadership, Professional Growth Tagged With: , , , ,

Leadership Caffeine: If You’re Walking on Eggshells, Something is Wrong

January 24, 2011 By 14 Comments

Overheard from Various Managers:

“I have to walk on eggshells around her.”

“He’s volatile, and I don’t want to upset him, so I steer clear and let him do his thing.”

“I’m afraid to confront her.”

“He’s too valuable to the firm, so we all kind of look the other way.”

How Much Energy are You Expending Trying to Walk on Eggshells?

While it’s doubtful that many of us have ever literally attempted to walk on eggshells, the phrase is idiomatic for those situations where we are fearful of confronting or even engaging with someone lest we draw their attention or raise their ire. I reference these individuals as Attitude Bullies.

As an early career leader, I recall one individual who masterfully exuded disdain and annoyance every time I approached him. Whether it was real or just an act to keep the boss away, it worked until I recognized that I could not do my job while ignoring this character.

I’ve observed as other individuals have allowed toxic employees to manipulate team and office dynamics by creating an “aura of fear” to keep people in check.

And in what may be the most commonplace of all situations, many leaders excuse the behavior of these characters by rationalizing the situation. “He’s the best at (insert activity), and we can’t afford to lose him.”

If you can relate to any of the situations above, or, if you have your own special Attitude Bully that you find yourself “walking on eggshells” for, it’s time solve this problem.

(Note: my focus here is on situations where your primary fear is, “fear of reaction.” If you sense fear of physical reprisal, stop reading and engage your manager and HR department immediately.)

Six Ideas for Clearing Away the Eggshells and Coping with Attitude Bullies:

1. Engage. Your instinct is to avoid and ignore. Do the opposite. You need to cultivate a formal boss to employee relationship with the individual in question. Without engaging fairly and professionally with the Attitude Bully in question, you have no behavioral basis for feedback, coaching or ultimately, some form of discipline, including termination.

2. Clarify Accountability. The Attitude Bully understands that his/her approach results in different standards for accountability compared to the broader population. You need to eliminate any opportunity for a double standard by clarifying the individual’s responsibility for results. And while some feedback purists may disagree, the results include actual outcomes as well as process and engagement quality. One manager used post-project performance evaluations from team members and the project manager to facilitate discussions on interpersonal approach, attitude and other behaviors. Regardless of approach, the Attitude Bully must understand what they are accountable for in terms of results and workplace behaviors.

3. Observe Often, Reinforce Positives and Tackle Negatives.  Neither the Attitude Bully or anyone around you will take you seriously until you hold this person accountable for their results and for their behavior. The best way to manage this situation is to observe the individual’s work with others as much as possible. If the individual is a true individual contributor without much team involvement, it’s all on your shoulders to engage often enough to offer quality, behavioral feedback. Tackle performance issues immediately and provide positive feedback as long as it is merited.

4. Warning! Don’t Apologize or Attempt to Praise Your Way Forward. It takes time for some managers to overcome their fear of Attitude Bullies, and those initial steps to engage are awkward and even frightening for some. Beware the tendency to engage by apologizing for your intrusion, and resist the urge to offer positive praise for behaviors that simply meet the standards that everyone else is accountable for. You only weaken your case with the Attitude Bully when he observes your visible discomfort via false praise or excessive apologizing.

5. Build on Progress. More than a few Attitude Bullies have responded to appropriate attention from the boss by becoming productive members of the workplace environment. While I’m practicing without a license on this one, I suspect that some behaviors are cries for attention and for respect. Your willingness to pay attention to someone is a powerful motivator.  As you observe positive progress, offer appropriate feedback and importantly, test the relationship by extending your trust on workplace responsibilities. Assuming that your trust is rewarded with results, keep it going.

6. Cut Your Losses. There’s a managerial due diligence process (different than a formal HR process) when it comes to dealing with Attitude Bullies. Your intent going into the “adjustment” process should not be to fire, but to help. Follow the guidelines above, provide clear feedback, document your interactions, and look for progress.

At the end of the day, if you are doing your job as a manager, your involvement will neutralize and even help the individual reform, or, you will have the basis for moving down the path of purging this workplace toxin. Ultimately, your issue is not about attitude, but rather about dealing with performance issues. You’ve got to engage to manage.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

Too many managers spend too much time walking on eggshells. They either avoid the Attitude Bullies or, they deal with them in a manner that reinforces aberrant behaviors. You’re much better suited to sweep the eggshells out of the way and engage to either build a better relationship or establish the basis for ending the relationship.   Don’t be afraid to reach out for help from a mentor.  Your only mistake here is to continue to try and defy physics and walk across the eggshells. You’ll crush something along the way, and it may be your future prospects in your firm.

Filed Under: Career, Leadership, Leadership Caffeine, Performance, Professional Growth Tagged With: , , , , ,

Leadership Caffeine for the Week: Too Much Time with the Wrong People

July 13, 2009 By 19 Comments

My biggest mistakes as a leader occurred as a result of spending way too much time attempting to change two people. I was young, new to the formal leadership scene and convinced that with my help and guidance, these two talented individuals would certainly shed their dysfunctional and toxic behaviors.

Wow, was I wrong!

After a lot of time, money, coaching, counseling and training, one lawsuit and one person storming out never to be seen again, along with untold amounts of collateral damage to the team and my own credibility as a leader, I had learned my lesson. People do not fundamentally change their nature.

I’ve been accused of sounding cynical and jaded as a result of my own early misfires, and perhaps I am. Nonetheless, I learned in a painful way why I needed to hire slowly and fire fast and have been well served incorporating this approach since learning those painful lessons.

In workshop settings, I present appropriately sanitized versions of those now two-decade old cases and it is fascinating to watch people make my same mistakes over and over again. Without getting into too much detail, both cases include talented individuals that wreak havoc on teams through their approaches. They are toxic, but they are both so freaking talented at their jobs, that it is easy for people and their manager to excuse their behaviors. “That’s just Bob,” or “That’s just Suzy.” In essence, the manager and those around them become their enablers and excusers.

After reviewing the case and debating “what to do” in small groups, I invariably get these responses:

-Create a new position

-Put him/her in a different role

-More coaching

Almost no one suggests firing the individuals until I play the annoying devil’s advocate on the above suggestions.

The unfortunate reality is that many managers are unprepared to deal with the “brilliant problem-child” character and they fall victim to the same fate as the erstwhile frog in the “Parable of the Scorpion and the Frog.”

Sidebar: In case you haven’t heard it: Scorpion needs a ride across a pond and asks the frog to carry him over on his back.  Frog at first says, “No, you’ll sting me and we’ll both die and what purpose would that serve?  Scorpion says, “No I won’t, I’ve changed.”  Frog thinks about it for a while, says, “OK, jump on.”  The frog starts swimming across the pond, gets halfway, the scorpion stings him and as he’s going down, he asks, “Why did you do that?”  The Scorpion responds, “I can’t help it, it’s my nature.”

The Bottom Line for Now:

You cannot change people. They have to want to change and unfortunately, deep, lasting and significant change is rare indeed. Like the scorpion above, people don’t change their nature.

You are in danger of spending too much time with the wrong people. Cut it out. Focus on those that are striving to learn and grow.

Hire very, very slowly and fire fast. You’ll make fewer critical mistakes this way.

Filed Under: "To Do" List, Career, Decision-Making, Leadership, Leadership Caffeine, Leading Change, Performance, Values Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,