Chapter 2
Complicators
Slow Uphill Climb
Critics Nitpickers Know-it-alls Diverters Historians MicromanagersSpot a Complicator
Negotiating with Complicators reminds you of slowing down to climb a steep upgrade. Complicators are impeding, obstructing, criticizing fault-finders who delay and hamper others. They complain to maintain their sense of stability and control. Complicators are passive-aggressive in their approach. They feel comfortable with a lot of information and details. To maintain their version of order, Complicators create systems, procedures, and processes that aren’t easy to navigate. Complicators are masters of minutiae.
Are You Negotiating with a Complicator?
Complicators complain to avoid change and maintain stability. They frustrate, complicate, and create confusion. Complicators:
- delay and put up roadblocks if something new is offered.
- nitpick and criticize others’ work.
- bring up past failures and mistakes.
- protect systems and information.
- use knowledge and details to confuse and complicate matters.
Reactions.
Complicators use specific terminology or complex rules that confuse those who deal with them. They are stubborn and use complaining to identify flaws in proposed plans, point out incompetence in others, block attempts at change, and conceal areas in which they feel incompetent.
Reality.
Complicators grow impatient and push for details and facts to make sure they are precise and accurate. Their complaining increases when they lack information or knowledge. They block actions or ideas that disrupt their need for certainty, order, logic, and stability. Complicators feel threatened if someone “invades their turf” by questioning or overseeing their organization or area of responsibility.
Stop a Complicator
Actions that Don’t Work with Complicators:
- Telling them to be team players. Relationship appeals or directives aren’t the best approach for people with logical sensibilities. Avoiding them or excluding them from team meetings will backfire. They complicate and criticize solutions created in their absence and become more protective of information and systems.
- Trying to change their minds. Complicators spend a significant amount of time preparing their position. They are stubborn and defensive when you attempt to change their stance or thinking.
- Asking them to adopt a more positive attitude. Encouraging Complicators to be more supportive of others and their ideas isn’t a good strategy. Complicators are concerned more with being right and having correct systems than improving relationships and maintaining a positive image.
He was a brick wall with a mouth . . . no ears to listen, no way through it.
The best way to negotiate with Complicators is to reduce speed, respect effort, and upgrade.
- Reduce speed. Slow down. Complicators need time to reflect and notice the impending change. Leaving them out of conversations will slow you down later. With their skeptical style, prepare for questions, resistance, diversion, and debate. Be prepared to over-communicate with them and provide sufficient details and support.
- Respect effort. Complicators are afraid of change or not having adequate knowledge. Complicators fear someone will discover they don’t know as much as they portray. Find a way to acknowledge the intellect that went into Complicators’ systems, methods, thought processes, or designs. Complicators need to be correct and want to be appreciated for the accuracy of the specific tasks they complete.
- Upgrade. To reduce Complicators’ defensiveness, present changes or new information as a logical addition, next step, or revision. Ask Complicators to help you fine-tune, implement, and integrate the “upgrade” to make it a seamless piece of their existing processes or plans. Seeing a change as an add-on or revision is less frightening than seeing it as something new.
How to Stop a Complicator Boss
When a Complicator is your boss, you need to identify the reasons behind the complaining behavior. Like all Complicators, bosses complain to protect their stability and control of a situation. They worry about not being accurate. They want data to be correct and want systems to operate seamlessly. A Complicator boss resembles a micromanager or perfectionist who criticizes and distrusts your abilities. Despite the role as your leader, you need to reduce speed, respect effort, and upgrade.
My Complainer refuses to change with the times. He is constantly trying to force everyone to think his way. He goes on and on, repeating the same old stuff over and over again. It never changes.Boomerang Boss
It was the fifth time Ted had gone to Sheila to approve the client report. Sheila was in charge of interfacing with one of their most important clients. She is particular about her reports and feels like her presentation format is the best way to promote the engineering firm. At first, she asked Ted to add graphs. Then, she wanted bullet points instead of numbers. Sheila corrected her own revisions twice and changed her mind about the color of the graphs. Ted knows the client cares most about getting a quick answer before an opportunity is lost, and he knows the excessive revisions are delaying their response. As Ted went to make the next change, Sheila said:
“Ted, this is important and needs to be right. Your report is a reflection on me and this company. This client is one of our most important. Everything we send needs to be clean, clear, and concise.”
As Ted left her office, he heard Sheila complaining on the phone, “Really, I don’t know how Ted was ever hired. He has an easy assignment that he can’t seem to get right.”
This Complainer always critiques other people’s work and looks for them to make mistakes. Ted needs to reduce speed. Racing around and saying there is a deadline will not speed up Sheila. She is complicating because she knows this information is important to the client and she wants to get it right. Sheila may not think that Ted’s information is accurate or that he has spent sufficient time on the report. Ted needs to respect the effort Sheila has put in and acknowledge that Sheila has built a strong relationship with the client. He needs to show Sheila his supporting data and ease her worry about the quality of his research and preparation. Ted needs to let Sheila know that getting the information to the client is an upgrade to the services they are delivering and the proper response at this time.
Ted’s conversation might sound like this:
“Sheila, I spoke with the client earlier today. My contact stressed that we need to get the information to them as quickly as possible. I’ve done my research and shown you the detailed support. You’ve agreed with me that the recommendations are accurate. I know formatting is important and is one reason we’ve been able to maintain such a great relationship with our clients. On this occasion, the client has reassured me that it would be better to have the information now than wait until we have it perfect and lose the opportunity. Do you think we could send the report as it is now so that we can meet their deadline?”
How to Stop a Complicator Peer
When a colleague is a Complicator, his or her complaining behavior results in obstructing, nitpicking, and micromanaging and impeding progress. Complicators create confusion, invent illogical rules, or require compliance with complicated policies. They conceal information and impede the progress of the entire team. Complicators fear that change will keep them from maintaining their version of order. Complicators worry that others will find flaws, determine they are incompetent, or somehow take control of their organizational process. As a peer, your role is not to inform Complicators that their systems are outdated or to tell them to just “get over it.” Instead, reduce speed, respect effort, and upgrade.
Queen Beatrice
Beatrice is the office manager at a large medical facility. She started 25 years ago when the practice was just beginning and established all the office processes. She is fond of telling the staff that she knows where all the skeletons are buried.
Ian was hired to transfer the charting and patient medical documentation into electronic format and to ensure the office meets current standards. Beatrice isn’t providing Ian with essential information or access to get it. Apparently, Beatrice is griping to other staff members that Ian is too pushy and moving at lightning speed. Beatrice’s bosses have no idea she is so uncooperative with Ian. When she and Ian meet with the doctors, Beatrice smiles and nods to show she knows about the importance of transferring the information. When she called today, she told Ian:
“I’m sorry. I have to cancel our meeting again. There’s an office emergency. You’re asking for a lot, so you’ll have to be patient. I can barely manage everything on my plate. I can squeeze in about 5 minutes tomorrow. Maybe we can meet sometime next week to discuss what’s already working and what you really need.”
This person is allergic to learning something new. Beatrice is the “queen bee” of the office. She hopes that if she complains and continues to block Ian’s attempts to change long enough, he will go away and leave her systemized beehive alone. Ian needs to reduce the speed of the change. He should acknowledge Beatrice’s system and respect the effort for the order she has created. Next, he needs to ask for her input and help as they upgrade the system. Ian could say:
“Beatrice, I appreciate the effort that went into creating your system. Most offices aren’t as well organized and don’t have this level of depth. As we upgrade, I want to make sure the specifications work best with the system in place. I can do it, but I would hate to attempt to implement the technology and risk messing up your organization without your help.”
If Beatrice continues to block him, Ian can send the owners and Beatrice a status update via e-mail describing what he has accomplished to date. He could add that he and Beatrice are scheduled for their initial meeting tomorrow to ensure the updates meet her specifications and their deadline. This approach gives the owners a heads up to a possible delay and subtly puts Beatrice in the hot seat. In this way, Ian has enlisted her in the upgrade and publicized the role to the owners. If the meeting doesn’t occur as scheduled, Beatrice’s uncooperative control and block of the implementation is evident.
How to Stop a Complicator Employee
When the Complicators are your direct reports, their aversion to change hurts the success of programs and the culture. As the self-appointed historians and resident critics, they delay or destroy the opportunity to vet and implement innovations. Telling Complicators that their criticism and fault-finding is negatively affecting growth, the team, or new designs while disrupting workflow won’t stop them. Delaying and blocking is their way to stay in control and maintain stability. Instead, reduce speed, respect effort, and upgrade.
Critical Carl
A local city wants to attract new businesses for economic development and make it easier for citizens to use services. The city’s new strategic initiative states every department is to lead innovation and create new ways of delivering customer-focused service to the community. Juan is the leader of the city’s information technology (IT) team. Juan’s team, including several new hires, is tasked to drive this innovation. Once a week, Juan’s team meets to determine the best way to serve its corporate and private citizens. When Carl attends, his questions and criticism shut down suggestions, especially from the junior members of the group. Today, another developer suggested a change to a program Carl created years ago. Carl protested, saying:
“Jessica’s suggestion won’t work. We’ve tried at least two similar approaches, and they failed miserably. As I’ve said during the past three months, people need to use the systems in place. When I designed the program years ago, I addressed every concern. People talk about improvements in interfacing and innovation all the time. That’s just a fancy way of trying to waste our time.”
My worst Complainer is negative from the minute he walks in the door. He reminds me of a flushing toilet that keeps running and won’t stop. If Carl is in attendance at a meeting, nothing meaningful is accomplished. In addition to harming the success of the city’s program, Carl is harming his reputation and reducing his opportunity to be heard. Any good points he makes or wisdom he offers is lost in his attacks. As his boss, Juan should work to reduce the speed of the change. If possible, Carl needs time to analyze and understand the proposed innovations. Juan should pull him aside and acknowledge Carl’s contribution and respect the effort he has used to produce through the years. Next, Juan needs to enlist Carl’s help to upgrade the ideas and modify the process.
A private conversation with Juan might sound like this:
“Carl, you know more than anyone about these systems because you helped build them. The innovation is a strategic initiative from our mayor and the council. We need to make sure we take those systems to the next level and implement the new elements the right way. I want you involved. Can you help find a way to merge our established systems with those innovations?”
To help his meetings run more effectively, Juan needs to modify the process to get more input. He needs to let everyone, especially Carl, know the new rules. Juan should start that conversation with:
“We need to hear everyone’s voice in these meetings, and we need all the data points to be successful in driving the city’s initiative. Moving forward, we will use a round-robin approach. That means everyone who has an idea throws it in the hat. Then, we discuss the pros and cons of every idea. Once someone voices a concern, we’ll see if others agree. Senior leaders share their opinions last and only if it adds to the discussion. If I’m not at a meeting, the process remains in effect and senior leaders ensure that everyone is heard.”
If Carl refuses to adhere to the new meeting structure, he’ll be left out of discussions in which the real decisions get made.
Turn to Management to Help Stop Complicators
When turning to management to help with a Complicator, remember to ask and answer several questions.
How Does the Company Benefit by Helping You Negotiate with a Complicator?
Complicators create confusion in the workplace, they slow down innovation, and they keep others from working at their highest levels. Complicators criticize, micromanage, and block attempts at positive change or moving forward. They delay work and withhold or control information to ensure their power.
What Do You Want the Organization to Do?
If you are a peer or a direct report, you may need help with guidance, strategy formulation, or intervention. As a leader, you want human resources (HR) or a senior manager to support your decision to act. You may want HR or a senior leader present when you coach or counsel a Complicator to show the seriousness of the offense. A leadership representative can help the conversation stay on course and can keep the Complicator from diverting the conversation. A Complicator will attempt to poke holes in your facts, dates, or exact descriptions of the behavior. He or she will come prepared with the exact wording of the rules and a list of details and questions. Come prepared with a copy of the procedures, keep language straightforward based on the company policies, and be clear in your write-up. Above all, stay calm and don’t improvise or go off-script. Prepare leadership with their own documentation so that they can back any decision you make regarding disciplinary action. People in management need preparation, copies, and knowledge if you want their support in stopping the complicating behavior.
What Communication Strategies Work with Complicators?
As you plan for discussions with Complicators, remember that they want organization, predictability, and stability. When stressed, they stall, demand accuracy, use confusing language, criticize, or require unnecessary details, especially if their stress relates to a proposed change. Complicators are introverted and logical communicators. Under extreme stress, they are impatient and explode. Let your Complicators know you appreciate their knowledge and organization. Allow time for the Complicators to think through your feedback so that they can respond.
I worked with someone who often sounded like Chicken Little, complaining about everything as if the world were going to end as a result. Our jobs are tough enough. He is no longer with the company.Suggest Complicators seek training or coaching to develop their natural strengths in troubleshooting, project management, and planning. Also, find them resources to improve their coping skills in emotional intelligence and communication. Remind Complicators that the process includes obtaining the thinking of others and that change is inevitable. Unless they help upgrade or fine-tune the systems, they will be left out of the knowledge loop.
What Detours and Roadblocks Do You Face?
Complicators are the historians and system designers of the organization. Often, Complicators have intimate knowledge of a system that no one else ever attempted to learn. Leadership fears that they will not be able to replace Complicators or that the Complicators will block access or even sabotage the system if reprimanded. Leadership may determine their Complicators’ contributions to the knowledge and systems of the organization outweigh the risks of the complaining behavior.
Turn Management Around
The best way to negotiate with management for help with your Complicator is to show the confusing, complicated, time-wasting systems being used when more sophisticated, efficient solutions exist. Paint a picture of the delays and frustration your Complicators cause and how innovations that can drive the company forward are blocked.
Travel Tips to Stop Complicators Reactions. Complicators appear as critics, nitpickers, know-it-alls, diverters, historians, and micromanagers. They impede, obstruct, criticize, delay, and complicate to maintain their version of order, certainty, logic, and stability. They are passive-aggressive and stubborn. It doesn’t work to appeal to Complicators to be team players, change their mind, or adopt a more positive attitude. The best way to negotiate with Complicators is to reduce speed, respect effort, and upgrade.