San Antonio Business Journal: HR & Hiring : Business Advice

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Division head Carl finally had to fix the problemz in a department run by senior manager He transferred one supervisor andthree high-rankingf staff members to other He was satisfied: Once he showed that he could be decisive and clean house. But Carl had consistentlty ignored advice that the department head wasa problem, and didn'yt make the changes necessary to keep the problemss from resurfacing later. Brenda seemed to be a nice perso and a sympathetic Like Carl, she had an open-doorf policy. She invited her supervisors and staffv to divulge personal confidences and to sharw opinions abouteach other. But she never resolvesd the issues that kept them from working together effectively.
I discovered a dark side behindd Brenda's behavior. She was both conflict-avoidant and passive-aggressive. Acting as a she carried versions of the gossipand bad-mouthing to othef people, but with a twist that increased resentment and drove wedges between them. Instead of holdint her staff accountable for productivitgand behavior, she reportex to Carl that all of them had major To justify her efforts, she said she'd chattedx with her supervisors and staff, and had encouraged them to put theitr style differences aside. Carl's permissiveness allowed Brenda to creatw a cultureof conflict-avoidance and passive-aggressivenesss that diminished productivity throughoug her department.
Unprofessional behavior included innuendos, rumors and warring cliques, leading to widespread paranoiasand over-reactions. Everyone, including Brenda, tried to look busy whilew theyavoided critical-but-difficult problems and covered their backs. Like Carl, Brenda was a long-terkm manager with extensive training. She couldc explain what good managers do; she simplyt never did it. Because she didn'y take effective action, complaints spread throughout the Other department heads mentioned the complaintws to Brenda and eventuallyto Carl. Carl would give Brenda advice and explain his But he neverfollowed up.
Carl was shocke d when corporate headquarters callec him on the carpet for not being an effective Carl thus was motivated to give Brenda a strong talk and a mediocre evaluation. That may sound like effectivs action, but it Brenda had let things slidefor years. She'd been talked to before, but she'r always been given promotions when she promised todo Carl's lecture was merely more of the • The best way to help people be more productive is to make them happt by listening to their hurt feelingzs and anger, being sympathetic in private and promising to fight on their side.
Brenda's sympathetic listening, but lack of consistenft accountability forprofessional behavior, created a managemenrt vacuum that sucked into it everyone's nastiness and personal issues. There are no problem people, only problem Workshops, clearer descriptions of processeseand expectations, and kindly suggestions and hints will cure all Well-meaning and intelligent people at all levelds in the company will put professional behaviore and team goals ahead of personal Carl and Brenda ignored the widespread evidence that some peopl simply didn't like each other and wouldn't and that for some people, personapl agendas took precedence over compant goals.
Also, some people behave decentlgy only when they are actually held accountable bymeaningful consequences. Others won't no matter what.