Andy (not his real name), was a good team member, but had been distracted from his work by family matters – his wife had been diagnosed with cancer and his daughter’s partner had mental health issues.
Andy’s performance had fallen and his supervisor, my client, spoke with him and designed a plan to support Andy and get him back on track.
Unfortunately, or maybe even fortunately, another team member took matters into his own hands and sent an anonymous email to Andy, abusing and demeaning him.
Understandably this upset Andy and annoyed my client.
The perpetrator wasn’t hard to find. He was an average worker, flying under the radar for performance, but visible for his disruptive behaviour and fixed mindset regarding his opinions about everything.
The perpetrator kept a level of popularity by being the team clown and the ‘devil’s advocate’.
During that incident being investigated, I had the opportunity to work with the team to help reset the culture after a divisional reorganisation.
That’s when I saw first-hand the perpetrator’s behaviour and attitude.
He lacked any reasonable empathy, was narcissistic and happy to lie for convenience.
I recommended to my client that he was destructive, not coachable and should be let go legally, ethically and rapidly.
That happened, and the team is developing into a regularly high performing outfit. Andy is back on track.
On another occasion with another client, I was leading a group of middle managers through a leadership refresher program. The program was interactive, and I was primarily facilitating input from the group rather than presenting to them.
One participant consistently interrupted either myself or other participants and having told us that she was a former teacher and had been delivering this content for years, she would proceed to tell everyone how she would have handled the example in discussion.
I managed the situation respectfully, privately asking her to let other people have a fair go too, and whilst that had some effect, she was still outspoken. Her situational awareness and self-awareness were low.
Her explanations where at odds with the principles we were expressing, such as building rapport before getting into a crucial conversation; remaining respectful always.
She was advocating a blunt ‘get it over with’ approach.
It was revealed by the other participants that she had been at loggerheads for a few years with most of her peers. Her staff, except for a couple of her favourites, were unhappy and felt micro-managed, however her supervisor found her to be easy to work with.
This type of person (the participant in question) manages upward very well, often remaining in place due to a detached, disengaged or deluded supervisor.
I invited her supervisor to investigate the matter from the perspective of the participant’s peers and team, and in relation to the enterprise’s values and the possibility of complaints from employees.
Her supervisor upon discovering the reality, offered the participant coaching, which she refused, stating that she could teach any coach how to better do their work, as that was how she managed her people.
After the coaching refusal, the participant resigned, to the great relief of her former workmates. She had been discovered and, sadly, moved on to poison another workplace.
What’s been your experience?
