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ForwardMomentum
A Monthly Newsletter from groupforward, LLC
Greetings!
Welcome to the February/March edition of
the groupforward e-newsletter,
ForwardMomentum. This edition
will focus on workplace negativity.
Notable Quote: That's my gift. I let
that
negativity roll off me like water off a duck's back.
George Foreman
Register to hear Becky speak about Executive
Presence! Anyone
may attend. Just click on the following link: Executive Presence - Do You
Have It?
Workplace Negativity
Effective Steps for Dealing with Negativity
Who are these people? They are the
complainers,
whiners, critics, backbiters, natterers, backstabbers,
negative nellies and nates, and eyeores. There
are
all kinds of negative people in the workplace and that
won't change. The behaviors exhibited by these
negative people affect the organization, their
coworkers, their bosses and even
people outside the organization! What can change is
how you deal with them.
What do you do about them? If you have one or
more of these people, there are steps you can take!
First, recognize the cost of permitting the
behavior
to continue. There are tangible and intangible
costs. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How much time and resources you have spent
thinking about or discussing the person's behaviors?
Estimate the cost at your rate of pay.
- Are the person's behaviors impacting staff morale,
turnover, or the company culture? Estimate the cost
of turnover.
- Are the behaviors distracting staff from their
jobs, and thus affecting overall performance and
productivity - is everyone talking about the
situation? Estimate lost time at the staff members'
rate of pay.
- Is this behavior reflecting poorly on my
leadership - do others (coworkers, supervisors, Board
members, clients, customers, competitors) know
there is a problem that isn't being handled?
- How much more time and how many more
resources do I want to
put into this situation?
Second, recognize the reasons why you might be hesitant to tackle the issue head on:
- The person is a high performer when it comes to
their job.
- The person has relationships with industry
partners that benefit the organization.
- The person has relationships with Board members
and we don't want to run afoul of Board
members.
- The person is a member of a protected class of
people and could bring a lawsuit.
- The person has information that could harm the
organization.
- The person has personal problems and we don't
want to be unfeeling.
- The person brings in money to the
organization.
- The replacement costs are too high.
- The person has been with the organization for a
long time.
- Taking action could cause the person to leave
and he/she fits into one of the categories above.
These are legitimate concerns and you need to
weigh them carefully. Don't let them overshadow an
objective assessment of the situation. Estimate the
real likelihood and costs of these concerns as you
address the issue.
Third, weigh your options. It's not just keep
them or fire them. Consider a range of options and
what consequences, positive or negative, each
option could have:
- It's the behavior, not the person. Separate the
two and address the behavior issue objectively.
What is the legitimate business
issue at hand? For example, a manager is
verbally abusive: using profanity, a loud tone of
voice, belittling comments, and forceful gestures that
intimidate, scare or
offend employees. Because the unprofessional
behavior is tolerated, the employees choose to leave
rather
than provide feedback to the manager or someone
higher up. The resulting turnover is driving recruiting
and replacement costs over budget. Make a clear
request that the behavior
stop because the organization does not have the
budget for continuous replacements. Have a
disciplinary consequence if the behavior does not
stop.
- Does the person have an attentive audience?
Stop paying attention or advise others to stop
paying attention. When you or a staff member
is approached, respond with the all
purpose, "Hmmm." Don't give an opening to a
conversation that you don't want to have. The
consequence is that there is no outlet for the
behavior. There can also be a consequence for
distracting other staff members.
- Reflect back what is being said and stop the
discussion, "So you're saying
that Joe is a totally incompetent boss? I don't feel
comfortable discussing Joe. The consequence is that
the person hears what they are really saying and
may adjust their behavior. Continued attempts may
result in a consequence for distracting staff
members.
- Ask the person how they'd solve the
situation. A positive consequence of this is that the
person must either own their role in the situation or
become responsible for creating the solution.
- Direct the person to someone else - you know,
that sounds like a personnel issue, I'd better refer
you to them. The consequence is that the person
no longer has an outlet and may stop because they
don't really want anything to happen.
- Guard your time and set boundaries. "Now is not
a good time to talk. I have work to get out." The
person is either shut down, finds another outlet, or
can be disciplined for being a distraction to others.
These are just a few of the options. Talk to a
trusted advisor, consultant, coach or human
resources professional to flesh out more options.
Check resources that are available that help you
think. Some good ones are listed below.
Don't make another staff person your "ear" unless
that is their job.
Fourth, pick a course of action and trust it.
Because
you don't have to handle these kind of situations
routinely, they are uncomfortable, unfamiliar, and
fraught with possible outcomes that you stop you
from acting.
However, waiting puts more burden on the rest of
your staff members, who are painfully aware that
something
must be done. Demonstrate firm and fair leadership
so that you set the example for other leaders in the
organization.
Fifth, evaluate how it went. What can you
learn from the situation and transfer to the next one
you might have to address?
Finally, remember to keep the organization's best
interests in sight. When you do, you will instinctively
take the right steps.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
Making Sense of Negativity
Sometimes, the negativity is a sign to which you
need to pay attention. The first article in this
newsletter addresses those cases of
negativity which are not based on "truth telling."
Sometimes a negative person is trying to convey
useful information, but doing it very inartfully.
It takes a courageous person to speak up
about a
legitimate issue or "name the elephant in the room"
everyone is talking about. Usually issues are not
brought up because there is no process to do so or
because there is perceived risk in doing so. The
people who do speak up are "truth tellers."
Appreciate that they are trying to help you lead more
effectively.
How can you distinquish these people? It
takes a
strong leader to listen carefully to what is being said
and to not take things personally. If the person
being negative is a good performer, generally gets
along well with other staff members, and doesn't
usually deal in the negative, then inartful delivery
may just be inexperience in raising issues or
discomfort in doing so. Sometimes one person
always brings you the negative because they have
your ear. Ask questions to develop the
issue:
- What is your role in this issue?
- What is your purpose in bringing it up?
- What is it that you'd like to see happen?
- How can you help implement a solution?
- What kind of support can you provide?
What can you do to encourage open
communication? Make a commitment to
establishing a process for raising issues and a culture
that responds to legitimate issues. Consider some of
these means for determining organization-wide issues:
- Collect data from departing employees. Have a
human resource company conduct exit interviews.
They can aggregate the interview data and tell you
when an issue shows up repeatedly. These
companies can help: The Personnel Office, HR
Advantage, and HeliosHR.
- Learn to listen without taking things personally.
Consider the motivation of the person who is talking
to you and ask probing questions that show you are
hearing what they are saying. If you determine an
issue is of wide-spread
concern, take action or explain why no action was
taken to demonstrate you heard the
input and that it was valued.
- Conduct periodic organizational reviews to
identify organization-wide issues and develop a plan
for addressing them. Contact
us about
these types of
reviews.
Dealing with Your Own Negativity
The Humorous Way Out
Negativity in the workplace is a serious issue
because it undermines the bottom line. It does
take
time to understand and alleviate negativity.
Moreover, it will reoccur for
various reasons.
Having a sense of humor, about your own
negativity as well as that of others, will help you
keep it in
perspective.
Client Talk
What do clients say about groupforward?
[groupforward] has helped us manage
[our] changes while
teaching us the “why” behind what often happens in
these situations. [W]e’ve begun to acquire the
understanding and skills to navigate particularly
challenging circumstances more effectively in the
future.
Vicki Williamson, Carter Cosgrove
Company
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