Managing an Aggressive, Disrespectful Employee

Question from Quora.com about a situation every manager eventually faces:

How can I be a strong leader of a company?

I’m the managing director of a company in a national competition. I appointed ‘Billy’, as we’ll call him, as deputy managing director. However he’s trying to take charge and criticising me as a public speaker, which I am actually very good at. How can I be strong and prove that I’m in charge?

Manage or Lead?

Mr. Asker is right to focus on leadership. A good manager guides the business whereas a good leader guides people. Success comes when you do both. 

One responder correctly stated that firing "Billy" is an option. However, since Mr. Asker saw value and ability in Billy, it’s probably better to help him grow, so firing him would be the last option. A manager would fire Billy first; a leader would fire him last. 

That having been said, let's consider some options. Everybody has a unique personality, motivations, and needs, so we no single response fits everybody. However, we can identify some common, general methods. 

Rise above the challenge

Mr. Asker should not focus on proving anything, although, after settling the problem, he may need to take steps to restore his stakeholders’ confidence in him. The following excellent advice is offered by Kim Bunting:

Prove that you’re in charge by taking charge.  The first thing about being in charge is to not get caught up in the emotion of the situation.

Criticism is only as impactful as you let it become.  Make sure you hear what he’s saying and look (without emotion) at it to make sure it isn’t feedback that might help you improve your already good presentation skills.  If it’s not, say “thanks for the feedback” and keep going.  If it is, work on changing.  A leader takes feedback and isn’t injured by people offering it.

If he’s trying to take charge of things you are doing, say “thanks for the help, I’ve got this” and move on.  Assign him something else to focus on, such as saying “rather than both of us spending time on this task I’m doing, we can get more done if you get the spreadsheet finished. Let me know when you’re done.” (or whatever)

The most powerful thing you can do to someone who is trying to upstage you or discredit your authority is to NOT react to them as if your authority could be taken away.

Confront the challenge

Containing the situation limits the damage to your reputation, to company morale, to business, and to Billy’s reputation, too. Jesus stated a rule about escalating an issue (Matthew 18:15-17). You start one-on-one, then bring in witnesses if you must, and then bring in the broadest authority; sanctions are the last resort. Some companies have Human Resources professionals who specialize in managing interpersonal conflicts, so involving them may be one of the routes for escalation.  Needless to say, the best option benefits everybody.

I recommend a two-pronged approach. One step is urgent while the other is important.

Feedback is urgent.

Billy needs immediate, private feedback. I suggest using the feedback model taught at Manager-Tools.com. (You can join to access their content or you can search their website or the iTunes store for their free podcasts on the feedback model.) The script goes something like this, and it should only take a minute or two:

1. Describe what Billy did. Focus strictly on one event, not on personalities or general behaviors.
2. Explain the result of what Billy did. Remember, this is about what’s good for the business. It’s not about judging Billy or defending yourself. However, you can describe the perceptions that his behavior causes and the feelings it triggers as they impact business. 
3. Explain your standards for profitable business behavior.
4. Ask Billy whether he can support those standards, and ask him what he will do to meet those standards. 
5. Thank Billy for his time and for the improvements you expect to see.
6. Move on. Don’t mention it again unless another feedback session is needed. 

Notice two things about the model: First, the model identifies the problem and its costs and then conveys a vision, a to condition, before seeking change. 

Second, if Billy agrees to take steps to correct his behavior, Mr. Asker now has a standard against which to hold him accountable. If Mr. Asker keeps thorough records, he now has a basis for future actions such as rewards for improvement, withholding rewards for failing to improve, or sanctions such as demotion or termination.

Treating the cause is vital.

Feedback is urgent, but identifying the root cause is important. Knowing root causes enables making a plan for how to will deal with the problem, just like a manager would make a plan for dealing with any other business problem. 

Toward that end, Mr. Asker should work on his relationship with Billy. He could take him to lunch. He could establish weekly one-on-ones (learn about those in the Manager-Tools podcasts, too). Determining what drives Billy him and his goals will help determine how to direct his energies and help him grow as a human being.

Manager-Tools’ also has a coaching model. Mr. Asker can also help Billy by assigning research or reading that would help correct his behaviors. Sometimes a bad behavior expresses some other frustration. Dealing with the root cause may mean helping Billy learn some technical skill rather than teaching him the social skill.

Leaders are learners. They prepare by collecting tools for dealing with issues and problems and by investigating to learn the root causes. Their plans for how to deal with issues may include a variety of approaches, and they may change approaches. Finally, the leader works for the benefit of everyone, including the offende

Copyright 2016, Richard Wheeler

Influencing without Authority

Does anyone have advice or resources for managing up when you have proposal contributors or stakeholders who are Sr. to you? (Especially when they have no idea of proposal best practices but they still have...opinions). -- Etiak Y.

Learning to influence without authority

I love the way Etiak worded that, "but they still have... opinions."

My inability to manage or influence without authority hindered my own career. I didn't even know until a few years ago that it had a name.

Because my title (Senior Systems Engineer) did not match the titles of the supervisors and directors whom I was supposed to monitor as part of my job, I limited my attempts to influence them, even when they needed somebody to hold them accountable.

Because I did not see myself as having authority and did not know how to "influence without authority," those in authority did not see any reason to promote me. Remaining at the same level for decades will stunt and eventually kill your career.

Challenging authority challenges experience

Be sure you have a good case before challenging the stakeholders. What is the authority of your "best practices?" Have you considered the impact of the changes you want to make? What will stakeholders have to change in their current practices and relationships in order to make the changes you want? Will it really make a difference? Are you sure the customer is ready for the new practices?

Communicating the challenge

You might consider laying out, side-by-side, the old and new ways. Be ready to explain, "if we do it this (old) way, then (problem). The Standard recommends doing it that (new) way, which prevents (problem) and (other benefit)." Appealing to logic does not always work because "old ways" take root in the subconscious. You want them to visualize (fear) the problems of the old way and visualize the benefits (reward) of the new way. Communicating through story can help.

If you get buy-in from the stakeholders who are in your chain of command, then you move from a position of influencing without authority to influencing through the halo effect. That is, you borrow the respect given to those who wrote the standard; and as a representative of those who do have authority, you can get the other stakeholders to at least listen.

Manage issues with change

If you have to ask stakeholders to re-write their sections because you failed to communicate your needs, it will reflect poorly on you. Announce that the format will comply with (standards) at the very beginning. Help them do their parts correctly the first time by describing the purpose and methods at the very beginning. Give them templates or easy-to-follow guidelines.

Be sympathetic when people whine and moan, but remind them of how the new way provides a way to escape the problems of the old way, remind them of the rewards of the new way, and thank them for their flexibility.

More on influence

You can find materials on influencing without authority in various places. I just finished reading The Science of Influence, by Kevin Hogan (Wiley, 2005). Understanding more about influencing others will give you the side benefit of having more power to influence your own behaviors.

(c) 2014, Richard Wheeler

Put Off Blaming Procrastination

Work will always expands to fit the schedule.

Recent posts on the theme of procrastination, or more specifically, finishing work on deadline rather than early, have stepped on my toes. I'd like to speak up on behalf of my fellow "procrastinators."

The theme implies that people have nothing to do besides that One Task. It implies that they sit around playing games and don't have to scramble to meet multiple, simultaneous, arbitrary deadlines and then die inside when people criticize the lack of perfection.

On Time is Late -- Are you sure about that?

Before dealing with "procrastination," one should question the value of beating deadlines rather than meeting them.

The Lean principle of Pull states that early delivery can cause waste. Normally, one thinks of storage costs as waste, but doing work before it's needed presents other costs. For example, racing to complete a task might sacrifice planning, risk management, or quality. It might also cause neglect of lower-priority tasks or accelerated cost of funds.

The real schedule-waster is not procrastination. The great Time Thieves are multitasking and perfectionism.

The assignments will multiply to fill the schedule.

Multitasking eats up time by inserting course changes into the day. Human minds are not like Intel chips with four independent CPUs. It takes time to push task A into the stack, bring up task B, recall where you left off, and start making progress again. Moreover, what manager will forgive neglecting task A, which is due tomorrow, just so task B can be completed a day ahead of its due date one week from now?

The reach for perfection will stretch to the deadline.

Management teaches "procrastination" by forgetting to balance constraints. If you expect perfection in any human endeavor, expect employees to pour every available hour into quality.

Managers who want early deliveries need to increase collaboration with their reports. That means, first, avoiding micromanaging, but still sharing enough involvement to guide energies toward the right balance between progress and quality. It means, second, putting themselves in a position to say, "Stop! That's good enough," when the task reaches sufficient progress and quality.

The prevalence of multitasking and perfectionism make "procrastination" not a performance problem, but a management problem. Sure, when employees fail to adapt, it becomes a performance problem; but I caution against pointing fingers at the effects when the cause lies within Leadership's hands.

Agile, Waterfall, and PMI Project Differences

I've been asking about the differences between Agile projects and traditional project management.  Many explanations err by answering the question only from a software or Information Systems perspective.  While Agile primarily appears in the software industry, the different approaches appear in many industries and product areas.

Since the Project Management Institute (PMI) offers both Project Management Professional (PMP)^® and PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)^® certifications, it would seem that Agile contrasts against traditional project management. 

However, it would be more instructive to contrast the Agile approach against the "traditional waterfall approach" of Systems Engineering.  (Refer to the International Counsel on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) for details.)

Agile uses a highly iterative approach that works better when requirements are vague and must be defined over the course of the project.  It is more appropriate for, as an example, the next set of security updates to Windows or the next year's model of the Ford Mustang.

The waterfall approach assumes progressive or phased elaboration of a fixed set of requirements that can be defined, validated, and turned into a design architecture or solution, from top to bottom.

However, Agile methods can still be used for portions of the system, particularly peripheral functions of the software. It is more appropriate for, as an example, the core of MS Project 2015 or a new hybrid squirrel-electric vehicle.

 

Copyright 2013, Richard Wheeler -- Permission granted for non-profit or personal use with a link to this post.

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Links to Management Resources

General Management Resources

• World Health Organization - Leadership and management topics
• Defense Acquisition University - Search engine for DAU resources
• Department of Energy - Directives, delegations, and requirements
• EverySpec - Collection of free US government (NATO, too) specs, standards, handbooks

Process Asset Samples and Templates

• Project Management Docs - PMBOK based project management templates
• Brad Egeland - Sample PM plans & templates, with links to related articles

Project Management Newsletters

• The Program Manager's Paper - Articles and links to articles useful to project managers

Project Management Resources

• Lessons Learned.info - Lessons learned (LL) in the context of project management (PM)
• Certified Enterprise Risk Manager® Academy - Risk-based problem solving & decision making, enterprise risk management: resources, training, certification, newsletter
• Herding Cats - Informative blog entry on uncertainty, risk, and risk management

Project Management Tools

• PM Tools Review - Project management & PM-related tools and services

PM Social Media and Online Study Groups

• Google Plus - Project Management, PMI, PMP Certification - Oliver Lehmann's outstanding Google+ group for PMP test prep, Agile, PM news recommended articles, almost everything PM
• PM Lessons Learned - Conference calls for PMP exam study, job hunting, and best practices every Tuesday plus the first through third Thursdays, 9 PM New York time; Archives of presentations and also a discussion capability are available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pmlessonslearned/

Technical References

• Department of Energy  - References, regulations, and requirements
• University of Maryland Space Systems Laboratory Spacecraft Design Reference Library
• EverySpec.com - Government and military standards, specifications, handbooks, and documents

PM Blogs

• The Southern Project Manager - Harry Hall's practical project management insights and tips

PM Study and Free Resources

• PM Study - Free Simulated Practice Test, Sample Guides and Podcasts, Work Experience Hour Calculation Tool
• PM Success - 400 Questions of the Day
• Head First Labs - Free PMP Practice Exam
• Simplilearn - Articles and instructional videos

Agile Study and Free Resources

• ScrumStudy - Free learning resources (including the ScrumStudy BOK) - Hat tip to Kylie Wilson in the Comments.

This is a work in progress. Add links to your favorites in the comments, below, and I'll add them.

Project Management and Open Communications

Project Managers need to guard against setting up an environment where bad news never reaches them. They need to praise and encourage those who communicate risks before they become issues, issues before they become problems, and problems before they become project failures.

Some managers remind me of the Clinton trial in the Senate, following his impeachment in the House.

The Senate set up a rule requiring Ken Starr to keep all the records and evidence in another building. Bringing it to their offices without an invitation would have violated protocol.

Then the majority of senators refused to go view the evidence. A few who did view it said they came away weeping, and the rest (having refused to view the evidence) said that they lacked evidence sufficient to convict.

Does your comfort zone tempt you to maintain willful ignorance? Does your character allow reliance on plausible deniability? The PM has accountability for project success, which any lack of awareness may bring about; but that accountability extends to achieving success ethically.

 

I wonder:  Do PMs ever include ethical lapses as project risks?