Jean on Problem Solving

As children we learned to look both ways at railroad crossings; the school bus driver would sometimes wait for an eternity for us to be quiet. Making sure to do everything she could to keep us safe from an coming train, our leader looked carefully and listened intently for danger signals.

Your workplace may be sending danger signals to you, too. Sometimes coping problems come from personal situations and affect only one or two team members. When that’s the case you should coach the employees individually. But sometimes, thanks to a more widespread disturbance like a merger or industry meltdown, coping challenges saturate your whole work unit.

Here are twelve signs your workplace may face a coping crisis:

Fretting: In normal times, moaning, whining and moping are not appreciated or tolerated. If fretting behavior becomes so widespread that it begins to seem normal, it’s time to intervene. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Transmissions, pistons, and filters rarely get top billing on car commercials but everyone knows that a failure in one of these can quickly require a tow truck. Service departments organize their maintenance of your complicated vehicle by inspecting each of the important systems regularly. Just like your car’s systems work together, your work group harnesses individual skills, motivation and effort to a create results that are greater than the sum of its parts. Here are ten things to check to evaluate your group’s collaboration competence:

1. Proximity: Members of your team must have ready access to one another live, via phone and via email. While synchronous (real-time) team communication is best, even asynchronous can work as long as team members check and respond to messages promptly. [Read the rest of this entry...]

One of the most pervasive productivity-sapping workplace habits I see is something I call “truth reluctance.” Lots of people know something should be said, but no one is willing to step up and get the issue out in the open.

Here’s an example:

Susie’s job was “reorganized” in a merging of two departments three years ago. But still, after all this time, Susie gripes to coworkers about how unfair the restructuring was. Everyone around her wishes she would just move on and get to the business at hand. But no one, including Susie’s new manager, has the guts to tell Susie the truth. As a result, Susie’s coworkers scatter when they see her coming. She is in danger of being marginalized by her own poor behavior and she doesn’t even know it.

In this situation, two things are missing. First, workplace participants don’t realize how much they are hurting themselves by being truth reluctant. They somehow feel that cushioning Susie’s feelings is a noble choice. Second, they aren’t sure speaking honestly with Susie would do any good, even if they were willing to do it. While the first concern is simply invalid, the second has some merit, because if Susie doesn’t receive the feedback well, you may have taken an unwise chance by speaking up.

Here are three parts of the situation you can monitor to give your feedback to Susie a fighting chance:

Trust: For your feedback to make a difference, it should rest on a foundation of mutual trust between you and Susie – a situation where you trust her and she trusts you. To develop a mutually beneficial working relationship requires “deposits” of actions, services or products the other person values. Professors Allan Cohen and David Bradford, in their book Influence Without Authority, call these deposits “currency.” Steven Covey referred to a similar idea in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as keeping track of an “Emotional Bank Account.” Whatever you call it, careful giving and receiving within a trusting relationship can help build even more trust.

Timing: Feedback should always be given privately and at a time when distracting workplace stress is minimized. If the person to whom you wish to give feedback needs to temporarily opt-out because the timing isn’t right, allow that. Choose to catch up with Susie at a later, more agreeable time.

Tone: The words you choose to use when delivering a piece of feedback to a colleague are of vital importance. A good way to start could be, “Susie, because I care about you and your work here, I want you to hear this feedback from me.” After beginning in this reassuring way, be sure your feedback session includes the following segments:

• Your desire that Susie listen to and thoughtfully consider the feedback you will give.
• The specific behavior that needs to change and when you have observed it.
• The impact or effect that the behavior is currently having on: the workplace, you (the feedback giver), customers, and/or Susie’s reputation and career potential.

Whether or not you currently have a Susie situation in your workplace, you will someday be tempted to be “truth reluctant.” But if you consider trust, timing and tone, you can be the person courageous enough to say what everyone else was thinking. That’s the only way to make things better, for Susie and for everyone.

I’ve said before that “Feedback is the food work teams live on.” If a group can’t give (and receive) honest performance feedback, productivity gains are just about impossible. While there is a simple model you can use for giving feedback effectively, there are, in my experience, four types of people who will have a hard time hearing you, even if you use the model perfectly. Here’s what to do for each type.

1) People who have been hurt by feedback in the past and are living in fear that they’ll be hurt again.

A woman I know won’t even listen if someone starts to offer her some “constructive criticism.” The prospect of hearing something negative strikes such a fear in her that she will actually remove herself from the situation rather than hear feedback. If this sounds like someone on your work team, there are three things you can try:

• Demonstrate that not all feedback is negative – by giving her some practice in receiving positive feedback.
• Explain that she must become strong enough to receive both negative and positive feedback if she hopes to grow and advance in her career.
• Make sure that the feedback you choose to give her is substantial and important. Do not spend your time “nit-picking.”

2) People who think they know it all.

Almost every workplace has a person others describe as “arrogant” and if you have some constructive feedback to give to this guy, expect some push-back. Here’s what to try:

• Gather evidence to figure out whether this person is overstating his intelligence or whether he is truly a superstar. If applicable, use what you learn to prove that they should be open to your input.
• Teach this person to give helpful, constructive feedback to others. Let them practice explaining “behavior impacts” to others.
• Hold this person responsible for demonstrating that they have internalized the feedback you have given them.

3) People who don’t value the opinions of others.

Often, less experienced workers have a dogmatic, “my-way-or-the-highway” lens through which they see the world. If you are dealing with this situation, try these ideas:

• Coach them to identify and explain the value of the differing perspectives of those in your work team. Discuss the concept of pluralism in American society.
• Have them practice explaining the “impact statements” others might use to describe their behaviors.
• Remove this person from direct management of others until he or she can demonstrate an appreciation for differing viewpoints.

4) People who are currently in personal crisis.

If there is someone in your work group facing something serious in personal or professional life, they might be having trouble coping. Adding your constructive feedback to the mix could have unfavorable results.

• Defer giving feedback temporarily so that they can concentrate on coping successfully.
• Give this person room to grow, but also assign a deadline by which you expect them to have come to terms with the situation they face.
• Refer the person to whatever external resources your organization has in place such as the Employee Assistance Program.

Part of your job as a workplace leader is giving people the feedback they need to perform successfully. By planning ahead for the four types of people who can’t hear feedback, you’ll be able to get those vital messages through – eventually.