OBJECTIVITY REQUIRED

Even if you accept these fundamentals and practice them, solving employee problems will not be easy. Many, however, are less difficult than they appear. One reason is that an employee may become a problem in your eyes but not in the opinion of others. The employee is irritating you but not co-workers or other management personnel.

Roger had a solid reputation as a superior manager, but he became irritated with Tony, a management trainee, the first day Tony was assigned to his department. Roger thought Tony was too aggressive. He immediately disciplined Tony in unfair, unprofessional ways—not his usual attitude. Then, by chance, he overheard two of his regular employees defending Tony. Roger took stock of himself, admitted he had been unfair, and made a complete turnabout. As a result, he built an excellent relationship with Tony. What he had interpreted as aggressiveness was assertiveness that others appreciated.

Your discipline, or authority line, is essential for employees not only to respect you but also to keep their productivity at a high level. Discipline must be maintained at all costs. But the supervisor must be careful to treat all employees fairly and consistently. Maintaining productivity leaves no room for personal vendettas between a supervisor and an employee.

The supervisor must protect his or her discipline line in quiet, effective ways or eventually lose the respect of those who must live with it. To permit one employee to cross the line is to lose the respect of those who still honor it. When the supervisor loses authority, productivity can drop drastically.

Joel had been able to maintain a relaxed, comfortable discipline line for almost six months. Not a single employee was taking advantage of him. Then Victoria, who was having personal problems, started testing the line from all directions. She not only challenged traditional procedures she had previously honored, but she started to make complaints to Joel's boss. The conflict came to a head when she challenged Joel openly on a procedural matter in a staff meeting.

Joel initiated a long interview the following day to discuss her recent behavior in relationship to departmental productivity. The atmosphere was tense until, near the end of the interview, the conversation turned to Victoria's career goal, and Joel stated that he would like to help her reach it. Eventually a kind of trade-off took place: Victoria promised to be more sensitive to Joel and to departmental objectives, and Joel agreed to do what he could to prepare her for her career goal without favoring her over others. The compatibility contract lasted until Victoria earned a promotion, six months later.