How to make values meaningful in your company

Do the leaders, managers and employees of your company really embrace and live its values?  Or do they treat your company’s values as nothing more than words on paper?  If you answered “words on paper,” you’re not alone. To read the rest of this article from the Business First of Columbus, see: How to make values meaningful in your company http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2005/10/31/smallb5.html

Why?  Because all too often, the words merely represent what leaders want values to be.  Executives often don’t follow their own stated values, and/or create those phrases with little or no involvement from managers and employees, and no one requires compliance with values.

Typical management styles that create meaningless value statements include these examples: See complete article.

Some truths about effective values: See complete article.

Some effective guidelines:

• Leaders can begin the process of values clarification and specification, and then get staff at all levels involved in discussing and modifying them.
• At each level, managers should lead discussions and reinforce organizational values with their actions.
• Feedback must go in all directions, not only downward.
• Create written statements through an iterative process that never ends, so people have an opportunity to buy-in or leave on their own.
• Values become powerful through examples that demonstrate, “When that happens, we do this”
• Stories are the best way of spreading values in action.
• Effective implementation occurs when leaders work in concert with other leaders, and when managers work with their teams and interface with other managers to give immediate feedback – private and public.
• Poor technical performance and out-of-control behaviors, such as physical violence and embezzlement are usually easy to measure compared with behavior that reinforces or opposes attitudes and relational-communication processes.
• Values begin to affect behavior when they are evaluated, praised, rewarded and punished, using as rigorous and non-bureaucratic a process as possible.
• Internalization of values takes time and actually never ends, because people often hesitate and fear reprisals, and there are always new situations and new staff.

There are no formulas, but there are guidelines. If you consistently live your values, no extra effort is required.  It’s second nature for you.

Often, individuals need coaching and organizations need consulting to help them design and implement a plan that fits the situation.  Especially if that means changing a culture of entitlement.  To get the help you need, call Ben at 1-877-828-5543.

Build a winning workplace, not just a happy one

How do you build a happy workplace?  Typical team-building activities, flex-time, event tickets, free pizza on Fridays, a wilderness-survival course? I suggest a different goal: Create a “winning” workplace instead of a “happy” one.  If you build a winning workplace – including shared sacrifice, accomplishment and reward – you’ll also have a happy one.  You’ll retain only those people, at all levels, who are happy when they’re being very productive, winning and being rewarded.

If you focus on “happy,” you’ll only create an unproductive organization based on begging and bribery.

To read the rest of this article from the Business Journal of Jacksonville, see: Build a winning workplace, not just a happy one http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2006/11/06/smallb4.html

Most of us think of “happiness” in terms of “what will they give me?”  But getting paid all that you want and having a good time working only when it’s convenient aren’t the reasons your customers are paying you.  They want results and service.

Outstanding performance will become a test of whether specific team-building activities and rewards are paying off.

You’re not looking for people who are happy only when they can hang out with friends or when they’re doing only what they prefer.  You want people who celebrate when there’s an accomplishment, not just because it’s Friday.

You’re also looking for people who develop camaraderie by feeding off accomplishment; who become more productive working with other good people.

Don’t bother with academic questions like whether it’s better to be an approachable, exuberant leader or a distant one.  Debates stimulated by sociology research or individual preferences won’t help you.  There is no one-style or ideal model of a successful leader. Become the best one of your type of leader.

You don’t need to be a party animal to create a winning team, but you do need to be successful, to foster success for others and to appreciate and reward them – no matter what your style is.  Do that and the best people will be eager to stay.

Nitpicking, control-freak bosses always lose their best employees

Are you a nitpicking perfectionist?  You might not think so, but what does your staff think?  If so, it’s time for change.  Because for all their good intentions, control freaks generally do more harm than good. To read the rest of this article from the Business Journal of Portland, see: Nitpicking control-freak bosses always lose their best employees http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2006/07/31/focus7.html

Of course you want to make sure things are just right, especially on documents that might have legal consequences or if they’ll be seen by big customers or big bosses.  But what are the consequences of going too far?

For control freaks, there is no “too far.” They nitpick every document and e-mail.  They red-pencil every word and choice of layout, font style and size.  They’ll even correct their own changes if you feed them back a second time.  They think no one is quite as good at anything as they are.

You know the type: The boss who plans the details of every small event, spends an afternoon directing exactly where to place balloons or strings of lights, designs the organization’s web site, takes a day to oversee re-painting stripes in the parking lot or argues directly with vendors about minor details.

They used to be called “seagull bosses” because they flew in sporadically, squawked a lot, left a mess and flew off to squawk about something else.

A steady diet of bullying and correcting staff – especially in minor details or matters of taste and style – means that control freak bosses don’t have time to do their real jobs.

Inevitably, staff motivation, morale and productivity suffer.  Nitpicking perfectionists gloat while using sarcasm, put-downs, negativity and yelling.  Even staff not directly involved are affected by the waves of discontent and ridicule that spread to every part of the organization.

The most creative and responsible staff will leave.  Those who stay are willing to endure more micromanagement because they think it ensures they won’t get blamed for mistakes.

How do you recognize if you’re a control freak?

Most nitpickers get the wake up call the hard way: Someone tells them the harsh truth.  It could be a big boss, letting you know that you’re wasting your time nitpicking and you’d better deliver on your real tasks.  It could be a colleague or supervisee telling you why you’re overworked, why people laugh behind your back or why your best people are leaving.

The key to stopping compulsive nitpicking is hiring and training people who are at least as good as you are and then giving them their appropriate turf.  But of course, controlling bullies usually lack the guts to have good people around them.

How can you deal with a control freak boss?  Don’t take the attacks personally.  It’s not about you; it’s simply how they operate. Some choices are:

Three Cheers for "That Girl in Pink""

When Benni Cinkle was 13, she appeared in a YouTube music video that went viral, receiving over 200 million views.  At first, Benni was ridiculed by millions around the world for her awkward dancing, often referred to as “That girl in pink that can’t dance.”  They called her names and told her she should kill herself. A few of the printable names she was called were “lame, terrible, awkward, horrible, stupid, freak, loser, awful, worthless, annoying, fat and ugly, dumb.”  Other comments included, “She should probably look into suicide,” “Please just die” and “I’ll bet she wants to kill herself now.”

Did she let the jerks drag her down?   Did she lose her self-esteem and get depressed?  Did she commit suicide?

No.  Benni was a target, but she was not a victim!

Instead of reacting defensively, Benni didn’t take it personally.  She kept her spirits up.  She met their criticism with humor, honesty and understanding.  She was open and didn’t hide.  Soon, anonymous cyber bullies became fans and Benni's online reputation as an approachable, down-to-earth teen began to grow.  In the months following her unexpected popularity, Benni received tens of thousands of requests for advice from teens around the world.

Realizing she had been gifted with a platform that offered international reach, Benni decided to use her 15 minutes of fame for something positive. So she:

• Started “That Girl in Pink Foundation” as a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of teen suicide.  TGIP focuses on any issue that may directly or indirectly lead to teen suicide, including: Teen Depression, Bullying, Cyber-Bullying, Teen Self-Mutilation, Teen Gay/Lesbian Support, Child Violence, Sexual Abuse, Teen Dating Violence, Eating Disorders and Teen Pregnancy.
• Authored “That Girl in Pink’s Internet Survival Guide,” offering teens strategies for handling life online.
• Organized a flashmob dance to raise donations for American Red Cross Japan Earthquake Relief.
• Organized a walk for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation that included hundreds of kids from 14 countries walking with her, virtually.
• Recorded her single, “Can You See Me Now,” and donated profits to TWLOHA and GLSEN.
• Visited schools across the U.S. delivering her “Don’t Just Stand There” anti-bullying presentation.

Let’s hear three cheers for Benni!

Find her at www.thatgirlinpink.org.  Invite her to speak at your school.  She’ll help you stand up to cyber bullies and stop bullying in its many forms.  She’ll inspire students to become defenders instead of remaining merely bystanders.

Fire People Who Think They're Entitled to Run Things

Imagine you’re a newly appointed project leader of an existing management team.  How do you know if you’re walking into a club of entrenched buddies who want to run the show and will sabotage your efforts?  And what can you do about it? To read the rest of this article from the Business Journal of Jacksonville, see: Fire people who think they’re entitled to run things http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2007/04/23/smallb3.html

I recently observed a team of a dozen managers with that dynamic.  Harry was the newly appointed project leader.  His two predecessors, also experienced leaders, had been unable to move the team forward.  Both reported problems building team agreement and developing aligned effort.

Sitting in on a team meeting, I saw two people repeatedly cast furtive glances to a third, who signaled displeasure by frowning, eye rolling and head shaking.  After each instance, the trio resisted the direction being taken by the rest of the group.  During a break, the three clustered outside, reinforcing caustic personal comments about Harry.

A little investigation on my part revealed the extent of the pattern.  One person was the Queen Bee, obediently supported by her attentive court.  She thought she should run the whole team because she always “knew best.”

The core of the pattern is that righteous and arrogant people feel entitled to special privileges.  They make their own rules and have double standards.  They’re self-reinforcing, and ignore or don’t care about what other people think.

The pattern is a common one.  It’s especially prevalent on boards of directors and in government offices and nonprofits.  People like this trio will fracture any group, destroy productivity and subvert the next generation of potential leaders. Their personal agendas to achieve power and esteem take precedence over the job.

What can you do if you find yourself in a similar situation?

• Recognize that fixing it will take determination and skill.  A powerful image of the situation will help keep you on track.  Harry saw them as a grown-up version of a high school clique; three princesses who know they’re the best and deserve to be in charge.
• You can try reaching out to the offenders in an effort to get them working with the rest of the team.  But don’t count on that approach succeeding.
• Harry tried a conciliatory approach but the trio was so arrogant and deluded that every gesture he made to find common ground was interpreted by them as an admission that he was wrong, was begging forgiveness and was ready to follow their direction.  The previous two leaders had also tried to placate them and failed
• But, whether you’re a peer or a project leader, you can’t afford to ignore them.  If left unchallenged, they form a not-so-secret power structure that will sabotage your best efforts to succeed.  They will force you to take sides.  For them, it’s about control and adoration.
• Don’t be a faithful drone.  Take steps to take away their power to do harm the organization.
• Reasoning and evidence won’t change these people.  And only a small percentage of them learn their lessons from their obvious failures.
• This is not a task for wimps.  You’ll need the help of your management, which means you need to do your homework and document your case.  Look for a smoking gun.  When you’re ready, shine a light on the pattern and confront the offenders head on.

If you find yourself in a situation like this one, quietly build an airtight case, gather allies and act decisively.  And be prepared for a battle.  People like that trio are a cancer in any organization. Remove them surgically before they metastasize.

If we don’t act promptly and decisively, performance decreases.  Behavior sinks to the lowest level tolerated.  Narcissists, incompetent, lazy, gossip, back-stabbing, manipulation, hostility, crankiness, meeting sabotage, negativity, relentless criticism, whining, complaining, cliques, turf control, toxic feuds, harassment, bullying and abuse thrive.  Power hungry bullies take power.

High standards protect everyone from unprofessional behavior.  You can learn to eliminate the high cost of low attitudes, behavior and performance.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Don't ignore new hires after they start work

You’ve spent a lot of money finding and hiring the perfect employee.  Do you kick back, feel the thrill of success, and throw the new hire into the jungle in hopes they’ll become productive rapidly? If you do, you’ve just wasted all the time and money you spent making that great hire.

To read the rest of this article from Business First of Louisville, see: Don’t ignore new hires after they start work http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/01/28/editorial1.html

For example, Helen was a highly skilled manager with a great track record.  On the first day at her new company, she was introduced – then senior management abandoned her.  Thus, the predators on her team felt emboldened, and immediately tried to see how far they can push her.  Who’s really going to be the alpha wolf and control this turf?

Helen wanted to start off on the right foot.  So she talked reasonably to each of them, one to one.  She tried to understand why they were so hostile and tried to get them to understand how much her feelings were hurt.

The bullies interpreted her reasonableness as weakness and her hurt feelings as vulnerability.  They remained hostile and righteous.  They escalated their emotional harassment and abuse into a feeding frenzy.  They claimed it was Helen’s fault their feelings were hurt.  Her feelings didn’t matter to those narcissistic bullies.  They told her they had nothing to apologize or make amends for.  Their threat: If Helen didn’t leave them alone, they’d complain to the senior manager.

Helen felt like she was the new kid trying to break into a clique of junior high school princesses.

Leadership spent a lot of time, energy and money hiring Helen but they failed to support her.  They didn’t set the tone for how new hires are to be treated.  When they didn’t support Helen’s attempts to set high behavioral standards, they enabled a toxic workplace and she moved onto bigger and better things.

Imagine your company beginning with a vacuum of standards for behavior.  If you and the highest quality staff don’t set the tone for the workplace, the most vicious and nasty members of your staff will fill the vacuum with their standards.

I discovered that the leaders at Helen’s organization weren’t merely absentee, they were conflict-avoidant cowards.  They weren’t successful leaders.  They tried to avoid stopping bullying while they whined and complained, “Why can’t we all just get along?”

Don’t throw new hires to the turf-building jackals.  The simple solution is to develop and implement an effective “How We’ll Welcome the New Employee” plan.

The welcoming process may sound like a huge expense.  But compare it to the cost of losing a perfect hire, having to repeat the hiring process and probably watching your next generation of leaders leave or sink down to the lowest level.  Problems welcoming new hires are a sign of widespread bullying and abuse, and lack of planning and oversight.

Don’t let that happen.  Your job as a leader is to actively set the tone.  You can’t allow the most predatory members of your organization to feed on other staff.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of low attitudes, behavior and performance.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

You don't want dish-breakers in your kitchen cabinet

Good leaders need a “cabinet,” which is a senior team responsible for carrying out decisions and implementing plans. But what about your “kitchen cabinet” – a smaller group of trusted associates; an inner circle that helps you confidentially speculate about possible directions, make difficult decisions or deal with sensitive issues in the workplace?  Do you know who to bring into your kitchen cabinet?  And who to exclude?

To read the rest of this article from the Boston Business Journal, see: You don’t want dish-breakers in your kitchen cabinet http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/07/28/story6.html

Most senior teams, or cabinets, have five to 15 people.  You might call these teams your “strategic team,” but they usually become more tactical because members tend to focus on day-to-day operations and functions, and jockey for turf and power.

Your kitchen cabinet will be smaller.  Success is important but is not the major criterion for who gets onto your kitchen cabinet.  What types of people ruin a kitchen cabinet?

• Insecure, defensive, troublesome, whining, complaining, victims, Drama Queens and meddling peacemakers who need constant reassurance.
• Narcissistic, micromanagers and control-freaks unable to get beyond their self-focus – invested in personal agendas, dislikes, vendettas and turf wars.
• Perpetually hostile, critical, negative, cranky, dogmatic and abusive rule-worshippers.
• Sneaky, manipulative, back stabbing bullies.
• Dishonest and lacking integrity.

In addition to success, what are some of the important qualities in people you do want?

• You feel comfortable opening up your thought processes and speculations to them.
• You trust their wisdom and vision.  You trust that they’ll serve your vision and goals first, not their own.
• They can take a big view objectively and they don’t take things personally and don’t engage in bullying to get their way.
• They’re resilient; not defeated by setbacks.
• They trust you enough that when you don’t tell them everything, they assume you have good reasons.
• They don’t gossip but, instead, maintain confidentiality; especially when they disagree with the value of plans you’re contemplating or have decided on.

If you’ve inherited a senior leadership team and a kitchen cabinet, you’ll still have to form your own.  That’ll cause some hurt feelings and you may have turnover.  But that’s much better than opening up to the wrong people or trying to operate without an effective kitchen cabinet.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of low attitudes, behavior and performance.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Catering to a few troublesome workers can backfire

It’s natural to respond to employees going through personal crises or enjoying tumultuous events, such as marriages and births. But have you volunteered to serve as therapist to some of your most troubled employees?  If so, have you asked the rest of your staff if they like your new role?

For example, Joe spent much of each day talking with people on his large team about their personal problems.  He thought his tender ministrations could turn anyone into a stellar performer.

To read the rest of this article from the Denver Business Journal, see: Catering to a few troublesome workers can backfire http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/04/14/smallb3.html

Joe was proud that he was a caring, people-person; a friend.  He wasn’t an insensitive, bullying, abusive, slave driver.  He wanted his team to be a family.  He expected success as a result of his people-centered approach.

However, I saw that it was the same few unprofessional performers who always needed Joe’s support and care.  For example:

• Jane lacked emotional control and blew up if she was ever asked to meet deadlines.
• Chuck always made sarcastic, personal comments about anyone who performed well.
• Bob was a negative, hostile, controlling and defensive bully.
• Joan was a smiling, manipulative, gossiping, backbiting rumor monger.

These four had chronic problems that spread their unprofessional behavior and prevented high-performance.  They weren’t solid performers who maintained their professional demeanor and productivity despite being distracted by joyous events or suffering from personal turmoil.

Joe had created a culture of entitlement.  He had to micro-manage them for them to be even a little productive.

Most of the solid performers still on Joe’s staff were looking to leave.  They felt harassed, stressed, abused and abandoned while he was doing therapy on those four underperforming employees.  Joe’s peers thought he should be reprimanded because his department was a bottle-neck.

Joe finally saw his problem and moved to fix it.  Over time, through evaluations for both productivity and behavior, he held everyone on his team accountable.  Despite the chance Joe offered them, three of the needy people did not begin to produce better or stop infecting the rest of the team.  They continued to drag down the behavior and performance standards of the team.

Typically, when people have been given many special privileges, they sue when they stop getting catered to.

However, in this case, Joe got some gifts; one of the people needed the job and started performing, two left of their own accord because the environment had “turned hostile,” and only one had to be terminated.  That person sued because of Joe’s “harassment.” But Joe had acted and documented appropriately and was vindicated.

Joe is unusual.  Most rescuing meddlers don’t change.  They’re addicted to the meddling role.  Similarly, most passive-aggressive or conflict-avoidant managers don’t change.

Re-read your job description: It probably doesn’t ask you to victimize most of your staff by catering to the emotional and psychological needs of a few people in the workplace.

Remember what Mr. Spock, from the original Star Trek, said, “Don’t sacrifice the many for the sake of the few.”  Mr. Spock was always right.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of low attitudes, behavior and performance.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Don't let bullies create a hostile workplace

Work bullies can ruin a culture, destroy productivity and make your life – and the lives of everyone else they target – miserable. And it’s not just bullying bosses who are the problem.  Co-workers and employees also use bullying behavior that creates a hostile workplace.

Excluding lethal weapons, here are the top dozen techniques bullies use to ruin a workplace.

To read the rest of this article from the Dallas Business Journal, see: Don’t let bullies create a hostile workplace http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/06/09/smallb3.html

Most bullies use combinations of these methods.  The relentless application of these harassing, abusive techniques reinforces humiliation, pain and fear.  Cliques and mobs rapidly form. Bullying can make the targets feel helpless and situations seem hopeless.

These methods cause increased hostility, tension, selfishness, turf wars, sick leave, stress-related disabilities, turn over and legal actions.  People become isolated, do busy work with no important results and waste huge chunks of time talking about the latest episodes of bullying.

Effort is diffused instead of aligned.  Teamwork, productivity, responsibility, efficiency, creativity and taking reasonable risks are decreased.  Promotions are based on sucking up to the most difficult and nasty people, not on merit.  The best people leave as soon as they can.

Your operational system may look wonderful on paper, but the wrong people in the wrong culture can always find ways to thwart it.  Your pipeline leaks money and profits plummet.

A common mistake in dealing with repeated bullying is to spend much too much time and effort trying to educate, explain, understand, accept, forgive, beg, bribe, ignore, reason with or appease them.  These approaches won’t convert dedicated bullies into reasonable, civil and professional people. These approaches only stop people who aren’t really bullies, but have behaved badly one time.

During the time well-meaning or conflict-avoidant supervisors, human resource and civil rights professionals are trying these techniques to educate or rehabilitate bullies, they’re actually victimizing everyone else in the organization.  The monetary and emotional cost of tolerating or enabling bullies can be astronomical.

Determined bullies don’t take your understanding and acquiescing as kindness. They take your giving in as weakness and an invitation to abuse you more.  Bullies bully repeatedly and without real remorse.  They might appear to apologize sincerely, but you should accept only behavioral change, not good acting.

The best way to stop a bully is to stand up to them.  Expose and isolate them.  Or catch them doing something outrageous or illegal in front of witnesses.  Stopping them and having serious consequences for repetitions are also the greatest stimuli for change.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of hostile attitudes, behavior and performance.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Handling the marginally troublesome employee

You probably wouldn’t have many second thoughts about dismissing an employee who’s extremely unproductive or behaves outrageously. But what about an employee whose performance is mediocre, but not horrible?  Or whose behavior is bad, but not outrageous?  That can be a tougher call.  But ignoring these problems can have a huge negative impact on productivity, morale and your career as a leader.

How do you know whether to let the situation continue or when it’s time to give him a last chance to straighten out before you remove him?

To read the rest of this article from the East Bay Business Journal, see: Handling the marginally troublesome employee http://www.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/09/01/smallb6.html

For example, Carl manages a support group whose productivity is adequate.  But the managers Carl is supposed to support complain that he’s too difficult to work with.  He always has facile excuses when he misses deadlines.  He conveniently forgets promises he made.  Worse, he feels defensive and blows up at meetings and verbally attacks other managers.  His negativity is catching and toxic to the rest of your team.

As his department head, you can see Carl’s problems and the unhappiness of your other managers.  But you can also see the benefits Carl brings. He’s technically skilled and admired by people who don’t work with him.  He’d be difficult to replace.

In essence, Carl is abusing and bullying you by doing just enough to get by.  If you don’t act you’ll create multiple problems for yourself with the rest of your staff.

Real leaders bite the bullet when they have a bad situation on their hands.  If Carl is unhappy with your oversight but won’t change his behavior, help him find a job somewhere else.  Plan ahead; start looking for a replacement when you begin to hold him accountable.

When Carl is gone, your credibility will increase and you’ll get lots of positive feedback.  Other managers will heave a great sigh of relief. There’ll be a decrease in insubordination, tension and complaining.  Sick-leave and turnover will also decrease. People will thank you and tell you more stories about how bad it really was.

The simple fact is that failing to deal appropriately with a problem employee like Carl is a formula for disaster.  If you have a Carl you don’t want to deal with, ask yourself: Are you willing to sacrifice your career to avoid confronting an employee who’s creating problems within your organization?

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of mediocre and poor attitudes, behavior and performance.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Don't let turf controllers undercut authority behind the scenes

We all know micro-managers who need to back off.  But just as often, I see employees who refuse to accept accountability and supervision.  They want absolute control of their turf and will resist, sabotage and badmouth any supervisor who wants to integrate them into an effective team. For example, Rita, a high-ranking professional, goes over Tom, her direct supervisor, to complain to a senior manager that Tom is micromanaging and wasting her time, so she can’t complete her tasks.  Rita also complains that Tom doesn’t inform her of meetings, springs deadlines on her without warning and talks down to her.

To read the rest of this article from the Memphis Business Journal, see: Don’t let turf controllers undercut authority behind the scenes http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2008/09/29/smallb2.html

We found that Rita simply didn’t want any oversight.  There were records of calls and e-mails documenting timely announcements of meetings, requests for her to attend meetings, and clarity in expressing tasks and timelines that she pretended she didn’t know about.  She also hadn’t return calls so she could say later that she misunderstood assignments and timelines, had good-sounding excuses to avoid meetings where she’d have to report progress and had never brought her issues to Tom.  Instead, she had badmouthed him behind his back to other managers and employees.

She sabotaged, harassed, bullied and abused him behind his back.  She tried to form a clique to disparage and undermine him with her constant negativity.

What could Tom do?

• Realize he was in a battle with a person who was out to be her own boss by undercutting his authority.  Every attempt he’d made to accommodate Rita was met with more demands from her to be in total control of her own work.  She didn’t want to report to him or the team.  He’ll never make her happy.
• Document every request to her and every action plan developed by the team.
• Shine a light on her bullying behavior to the team and especially to the senior manager.
• Express his dissatisfaction with Rita’s performance and behavior in writing in order to counterbalance her complaints.
• Ask the senior manager not to listen to Rita in secret, but to bounce her complaints back to him or to hold meetings with both Rita and Tom together to discuss both their complaints.and-say-no/

What should the senior manager do?

Call Ben to learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of turf controllers’ low attitudes.  All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Stop battles between "leapers" and "steppers"

If you have a “leaper” and a “stepper” on your staff who are at war with one another, you have a big problem that needs immediate attention. Leapers are people with fast biological clocks.  Steppers approach the world slowly and cautiously.  Their very different views of the world can lead to disastrous results if they’re put into roles that make them dependent on one another to complete tasks.

For example, Larry the leaper and Steve the stepper are on the same technical team.

To read the rest of this article from the Charlotte Business Journal, see: Stop battles between ‘leapers’ and ‘steppers’ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2008/12/08/smallb4.html

The more invested they are in the rightness of their styles, the faster the gulf between them will widen until their differences become irreconcilable.  When they go to war, they’ll both look to you as their manager to punish the other (guilty) person and to excuse their own transgressions.

The war will feel like a crusade and become toxic through out the office.  They’ll misunderstand and see negativity or evil intent in almost every action and email.  They’ll begin to harass, bully, abuse and sabotage, and attempt to line up supporters.

Intervene as soon as possible, before hostilities engulf the whole office.

Be careful yourself; don’t empower one to be the controlling bully on your team.  Don’t harass, coerce or force your preferred pattern on everyone.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of bullying, aggressive low attitudes of managers and staff.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Snitches, vendettas hurt productivity

It’s easy to dislike stalkers and snitches with personal vendettas.  But you can’t fire them just because they’re relentless, stir up conflict and waste your time and energy, can you? Most of us dislike snitches.  And there are rules and laws against stalking someone in the workplace.

But if you’re a manager, someone who tells you about things your other employees are doing wrong can seem helpful.  A snitch doesn’t always look like a snitch if you’re the beneficiary, not the target or victim, of their tattling.  And they can provide useful information about serious problems you may not be aware of.

For example:

To read the rest of this article from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, see: Snitches, vendettas hurt productivity http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/print-edition/2011/11/04/the-human-element.html

Did Hazel do her boss a favor by being a snitch?  Maybe – if there weren’t more to the story.  Snitches are toxic, bullies who often beat others with trivial rules.

What can you do if you have a sneaky, manipulative, control-freak like Hazel working for you?  Even though they’re toxic, the answer can be tricky.

You certainly don’t want to discourage employees from reporting serious problems – criminal activity, safety problems and the like.  But you should be wary of any employee who’s always telling you about the faults of other employees.  There’s a good chance you have a snitch and stalker on your hands.

Where and how do you draw the lines?  You may want to put some restrictions in place.  For example:

If you manage an employee with Hazel-like obsessions, you’re not helping her or your team by encouraging stalking and snitching.  You’re creating a scenario that will destroy your team.  Harassment, bullying and negativity will increase, other team members will start abusing each other, meetings will become charades with hidden agendas and character assassination, and morale will plummet.

Instead, stop stalking, personal vendettas and snitching before they start.  Focus on individual and team performance.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of snitches’ low attitudes.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Members of Whiners' Club definitely bad for business

With one exception, workplace cliques are bad for business.  If you allow them to operate behind the scenes, they’ll destroy morale, teamwork and productivity.  Yet, as the economy continues in a recession, people’s fear and stress will lead them to band together to find comfort and scapegoats. We usually recognize cliques that use bullying tactics to preserve their turf and to get ahead.  Let’s focus on one particular type of clique that will become more prevalent and more destructive as the recession deepens – the Whiners’ Club.

To read the rest of this article from the Portland Business Journal, see: Members of Whiners’ Club definitely bad for business http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/04/13/story9.html

Members of the Whiners’ Club, whether they’re managers or staff, waste time and spread a cloud of negativity and apathy throughout the office.  They’re toxic.  They complain about everything: the global economy; the country’s education, health care, bureaucracy and legal systems; the company’s leadership and management; their immediate bosses and coworkers; increased workloads imposed because coworkers were laid off; the insecurity of their jobs and retirement funds.  You’ll never satisfy them.

The accuracy of the whiners’ observations isn’t the issue.  The issue is their attitude towards what they think are facts.  These people are professional victims.  They’ve decided that since the world is so rotten and the future appears so bleak, they’ll stop trying to succeed.  Instead, they give themselves permission to wallow in victimhood.  They use their negativity to bully and abuse other staff, to sabotage meetings and to control the workplace.

Does that sound like teenagers who feel entitled to be taken care of?

Often, the strong and clear voice of an outside consultant and coach can empower managers and also make changes compelling.  You’ll probably need to train conflict-avoidant managers how to evaluate and remove members of the Whiners’ Club.  Once you remove a few of the most negative people, most of the rest can be rehabilitated with the right approaches.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of whiner’s low attitudes.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Beware meeting saboteurs who can derail effectiveness

Marie couldn’t run a productive meeting.  Even after leadership training to fix the problem, her teams’ meetings lost focus, ran way over their scheduled times and repeatedly became time-wasters. She couldn’t see why she had these problems.  She’d prepared ahead, the meetings had agendas, she solicited input and she always sought consensus.  So what was wrong?

The reason was clear to an outside observer.  She had saboteurs on each of her two teams and she didn’t know how to deal with them.  Their negativity was destroying morale, teamwork and productivity.

To read the rest of this article from the Philadelphia Business Journal, see: Beware meeting saboteurs who can derail effectiveness http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2009/05/25/smallb3.html

Toxic, manipulative, meeting saboteurs steal everyone’s time, prevent industrious co-workers from meeting their deadlines and increase frustration and tension in the office.  They’re negative, control-freaks.  Because of these saboteurs, many coworkers dread coming to work.  Conflict-avoidant managers and coworkers create space for these bullies to flourish.

Marie agreed with my diagnoses, but didn’t know what she could do to stop the sneaky, manipulative bullying.  She didn’t want to be an autocratic, know-it-all manager and unilaterally make decisions.  So, she always scheduled additional meetings at which she hoped the teams could reach consensus and move ahead.

Also she couldn’t imagine how to change the bullies’ attitudes and abuse legally.  She had already dropped hints to both of them, but they hadn’t altered their behavior.

Neither Larry nor Harry thought of himself as a bully or a saboteur, but these terms crystallized Marie’s resolve to stop their behavior, no matter what it took.  She shifted from feeling helpless to being angry and determined.

Then we developed an effective plan that fit the culture of her company.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of their low attitudes.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

My staff doesn’t care: What’s the problem? Is it me?

Honest self-evaluation and course correction are key traits of great leaders, managers and employees. For example, suppose you complain that almost everyone in your department or organization is turned off and tuned out.  Are they all just a bunch of self-indulgent, narcissistic, lazy slackers or a rotten generation – or have you failed somehow?

To read the rest of this article from the Philadelphia Business Journal, see: My staff doesn’t care: What’s the problem? Is it me? http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2009/10/12/smallb3.html

If your office is typical, you’d expect that a small group of employees won’t care no matter what you do.  They’re abusive, bullying bottom-feeders.  Their lack of discipline, responsibility and effort comes from the inside.  Begging, bribery, appeasement and coddling may make them happy, but won’t make them more productive.

Another small group, on the other side of a bell curve, will work hard all the time.  They take responsibility and care about your company’s success as well as their own.

But if that middle group, roughly 80 percent, doesn’t care, be honest and look at yourself.  You know that most people do care and want to be productive.

Learn what you can do to eliminate the high cost of their low attitudes.

Will you convert everyone when you start doing what you need to?  No, but you’ll see who are bullies, who’s in the bottom-feeder group and who’s so hurt, angry and disaffected that they can’t be won over.  Be kindly when you help these latter people leave.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Don't let continually cranky co-workers ruin your day

Friendly, upbeat, helpful co-workers can ease the burden of difficult, stressful projects.  But what can you do about chronically cranky co-workers who make you wish for a snow day or a hurricane? Joe is one of these toxic bullies. He’s the scourge of his office.  It’s hard to tell if he’s unaware of his co-workers’ dismay when they see him or if he enjoys inflicting pain and abuse, and getting his way because they’re afraid of him.  He’s always negative, always angry, always complaining.  He rants about “stupid” co-workers who’ve offended him.  He vents about the “idiots” who run the company and the country.  In any season, the weather’s always rotten.  He “bah, humbugs” any warmth offered him.  He’ll never be satisfied.

To read the rest of this article from the Orlando Business Journal, see: Don’t let continually cranky co-workers ruin your day

Faced with a chronically cranky co-worker, most people try to minimize the pain by:

• Avoiding them. We tip-toe around or duck and hide when we sense the first signs that a Cranky Joe is around.
• Ignoring them. We hope they’ll stop because they aren’t getting the attention or control they crave.
• Begging, bribing and appeasing them. We’re sweet, nice and accommodating. We bring them baked goods in hopes they’ll like us and stop acting like spoiled brats.
• Crying to release our hurt and frustration.
• Making psychoanalytical excuses for them so we can rise above their level – anything to avoid confronting them.

Unfortunately, these tactics rarely work.  However, there are many tactics you can use to eliminate the high cost of his bullying and low attitudes.

I avoid in-depth psychoanalysis of continually cranky co-workers.  I assume they know the carnage they cause around them.  For them, education is rarely the answer.  The answer is simply stopping them.

Of course, it’s much harder to deal with a cranky boss.  Or to look in the mirror and realize that people run for cover when you come over to vent.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Promoting a 'Drama Queen' is guaranteed to create chaos

‘Drama Queens’ and their male counterparts may look like they’re responding quickly – rallying the troops, taking charge and solving problems.  But they cause more chaos at work and create more fallout than the problems they’re reacting to.  Don’t be fooled by their high energy and don’t promote them.  Drama Queens come in many forms.  For example: To learn to recognize and stop them, read more.

To read the rest of this article from the Houston Business Journal, see: Promoting a ‘Drama Queen’ is guaranteed to create chaos http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2010/01/25/smallb3.html

Although they come in many forms, Drama Queens share some common traits.  They:

• Act as if drama is more important than results or that they believe that drama is necessary to get results.  They suck everyone dry of emotional energy.
• Seem strong and forceful, and are perfectionistic, nit-picking, control freaks.
• Over-react as if everything is a matter of life and death.  They jump to conclusions and blow up.  They’re super-intense, angry, hostile and emotional, instead of thoughtful.
• Want all hands on deck and devoted to the latest emergency.  Nothing else matters.
• Are vindictive blamers.  They take everything personally and remember forever.
• Think that spewing of emotions reveals the “real” person.  They’re uncomfortable with coworkers they see as expressionless.  To Drama Queens, loud emotions show strength; calm people are wimps.

They use their strong emotions and manipulations to get what they want.  Sometimes they’re overt bullies while other times they use sneaky, covert bullying tactics.

Our language has many expressions for the perspective necessary for judicious action: ‘Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill; don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater; don’t try to kill mosquitoes with a bazooka; don’t jump to conclusions; don’t promote a Drama Queen.’

There are ways you can eliminate the high cost of a Drama Queen’s bullying and low attitudes.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Eliminate the High Cost of Low Attitudes at Work

Might you have a serious problem in your team, department or whole organization?

• Are good employees protected from bullies, negative complainers, toxic coworkers, subtle manipulators, nitpicking control freaks, rule-floggers, gossips, passive-aggressive stalkers, energy vampires, meeting disruptors, demanders, meddlers, micromanagers, critics,  conflict-avoidant managers, “professional victims,” Drama Queens, or jerks?
• Are you wasting your time and effort to understand and rehabilitate splinters, rotten apples and cancers – at all levels in your company?

In this 3 CD set, “How to Eliminate the High Cost of Low Attitudes,” complete with workbook, designed for managers at all levels, you’ll learn:

• Why good, well-meaning people fail to establish high standards of professional behavior, and how organizations participate in begging, bribery and appeasement of low attitude staff at all levels.
• How to recognize covert, sneaky, stealthy, backstabbing, manipulative bullies and their cliques.
• The true cost of negativity, emotional sabotage, poor customer service and low attitudes in your workplace and on your personal life.
• How to make attitudes and professional behavior as important as deliverables.
• The importance of the 990/10 rule and why not to “counsel” a problem employee.
• How to weed out determined bullies and predators, and turn around a culture of entitlement.
• Methods to protect your personal ecology from abuse, harassment and bullying behavior, and create and maintain team ground rules.
• Why you can’t stop bullying with employee satisfaction surveys.
• How the right discipline increases morale and team performance.

What’s the cost of accepting low attitudes?  Slow erosion of your soul!

Gain the courage and skills to handle the tough situations you encounter legally and do what you need to do as a leader.

Order “How to Eliminate the High Cost of Low Attitudes,” by itself or as part of the Professional Life Bundle from this web site and get fastest delivery.

All tactics are situational.  In addition to these guidelines, expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.

Well-Meaning, Meddling 'Peacemakers' can Disrupt Your Workplace

You want the people on your team to get along with one another and to work well together. But beware of self-appointed middle-men or peace makers.  They actually promote whining and complaining, and lead your team to wallow in emotional turmoil and dissention.

For example, Carl felt it was his job as a “people person” to smooth over ruffled feelings and make his teammates happy.  He said, “When we get along better, we produce more.  Happy employees are productive employees.”

To read the rest of this article from the Pacific Business News (Honolulu), see: Well-Meaning ‘peacemakers’ can disrupt your workplace http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2010/04/26/story11.html

The Carl’s of this world:

• Pour gasoline on the emotional fires and leave a trail of misunderstanding and anger.  But they insist they’re just trying to help.
• May be well-intentioned, but when they act as go-betweens, gossip, innuendo and hostile emotions invariably escalate.  Work suffers.
• Are abusive, sneaky, manipulative bullies.
• Usually they love the emotional turmoil and uproar.  They feel alive when emotions are on the line and necessary when they’re intervening.  They can’t resist being middlemen.

Meddling managers, setting the tone for their teams, cause the most damage.   Of course, women meddle just as much as men.

Distinguish the Carl’s of this world from the bridge people who are crucial to the success of any organization.

There was a way Carl’s manager could eliminate the high cost of his bullying and low attitudes.

All tactics are situational.  Expert coaching and consulting can help you create and implement a plan that fits you and your organization.