CHAPTER 6
YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?

If I want to know how I’m doing at work, I don’t wait for a pat on the back. I ask the people who will give me a clear, objective opinion.

—Chandra Wilson

Looking back, it was a great first day of work for Violet. Just re-entering the workforce after a break to raise her children, the job was not very demanding, but there was potential for more opportunity. During the interview, her manager, Enrique, clearly explained what the job entailed—its functions and the tasks she would be expected to perform—and how the job related to others in the department. On her first day, he reinforced everything they’d discussed in the interview about her job and the department, its values of integrity and respect, and its commitment to service for the organization’s patrons. Coming out of a staff meeting six months later, Violet reflected on how much she admired Enrique as a manager. He lets you know what he expects and you always know where you stand with him. He also models the values of the department.

Communicate Early and Often

At the core of many workplace conflicts is the lack of clear expectations. If people don’t understand what the organization, their manager, or their teammates and peers expect, the results can be confusion and conflict. There is a golden opportunity to set the tone early, beginning with the interview, just as Enrique did. He set expectations for the role and what success in the role looks like. The next opportunity is at the beginning of the employment relationship—especially during the on-boarding or orientation process—when the organization’s culture should be introduced. Let employees know: “These are our values, these are the behaviors that reflect our values, and we have zero tolerance for behavior that is contrary to our values, such as harassment, discrimination, workplace bullying, etc. Any type of disrespectful behavior has no place in our workplace.”

Chapter 11: What’s an Organization to Do?

Enrique continues to reinforce expectations and values both in staff meetings and in individual meetings with his employees. During today’s staff meeting, he emphasized the importance of communicating patrons’ issues to management using Rita’s recent situation. Rita, who serves as a guide, noticed that a blind patron had a preference for using the stairs rather than the elevators which is marked in Braille. As a guide, Rita knows that she has to respect the patrons’ wishes and not try to persuade them to take another course, in this case the elevator. However, she let Enrique know so he could take action to get the stairs marked in Braille as well. The blind patrons were served with dignity and respect! Enrique took this opportunity to give accolades to Rita for the way she handled the situation.

Expectations Equal Accountability

Last month’s staff meeting was a different story, however. Because she was new, Violet didn’t have any past experience with it, but there’d been a change in how the paid time off policy would be applied and it had a negative impact on most of the part-time staff in the department. To his credit, Violet thought, Enrique explained the problem in a very straightforward and factual manner. He explained the policy and how he had allowed it to be misapplied. He apologized for his role in the misinterpretation of the policy and acknowledged the negative impact it would have on the staff. He was empathic toward the staff, yet clear that going forward the policy would be applied as it was intended. He explained that the policy set certain standards to which everyone was expected to adhere. He recognized that there had been an oversight on his part in the past and was accountable for his error. He took responsibility. During lunch after the meeting, some of her coworkers were complaining about the policy and Enrique. Violet took the opportunity to tell them about her friend Angelia.

Angelia has been working at her current job for two years. She recently completed a report using the criteria and standard format that had been established. Her boss called her out on it, telling her that what he wanted wasn’t in the report. When she asked what was missing or wrong, he told her she should know and provided no further direction or details. This had happened in the past to both Angelia and another coworker. The next day in a staff meeting, the boss advised in very general terms that reports needed to be completed correctly. He provided no specific details or examples. Angelia is frustrated. The established standards were not being honored, she received no specific details on how her report could have been improved, and her boss chose to provide a vague description of expectations that no one on the staff understood! Enrique, Violet pointed out, lives up to the expectations that he sets for everyone—integrity and respect. On the other hand, Angelia’s boss doesn’t even honor the standards that have been set for certain tasks within the department.

Leo is a supervisor in a pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Derrick failed to follow a quality process. When Leo quietly points it out, Derrick becomes defensive. Leo responds immediately by calling a relief worker to take over, and brings Derrick into his private office, where he quietly reviews the process, explaining why it exists, and the consequences for not following it. The process is a fair procedure—an objective criterion—based on standards drawn from scientific judgment and the common interest of the community. The process and standards are reviewed early and often in the employment relationship, and employees are expected to adhere to them. Leo holds himself and his department accountable to those standards, unlike Angelia’s boss who often disregards the standards.

Chapter 7: Don’t Draw a Line in the Sand!

Consider another situation where an employee, Chris, made a commitment to attend an important meeting and missed it. His boss thinks he missed it on purpose. He calls Chris aside privately and, like Leo, describes what was expected and what was observed. “Chris, I noticed that you missed the meeting you agreed to attend. What happened? Did you run into a problem of some kind?”¹ Commitments are a type of expectation, agreements that individuals make to each other. When commitments are broken and accountability is not taken, conflicts arise. Chris’s boss pointed out the broken commitment in a non-confrontational manner, similar to Leo’s approach.

Motivation or Ability?

If expectations aren’t being met, is it because the individual(s) can’t or won’t meet them? In other words, is it a problem with motivation or ability or possibly both? If the individual could perform as expected, in fact has performed in the past, but does not do so now, he may lack the desire or motivation to perform according to expectations. On the other hand, if the individual wants to perform as expected, but fails to do so, then she may lack the knowledge or skill to perform according to standards.

If motivation is at the root of the issue, the challenge becomes changing behavior. Pointing out the consequences of the behavior is a critical step. If the individual understands the consequences, changes to his or her behavior will likely follow.

One of Leo’s colleagues, Bruce, is having a difficult time with his assistant, Leah. She is constantly making mistakes, especially when it comes to updating his appointments. When he sits down to talk with her, Bruce explains that her errors are causing more work for the other assistants. “I’m sure it’s a hassle to double-check appointments when you enter them, but our current error rate is so high that the assistants in the other departments are calling me to ask for confirmation. I worry if your reputation here is going to be hurt if we can’t solve this.”³

Bruce takes it one step further. He ties his expectations of Leah’s work to the company’s values. As a pharmaceutical company, quality is highly valued, not only in the manufacturing process, but throughout the organization. Bruce reviews the expectations of quality for the administrative staff that Leah is not meeting:

   The ability to produce work products accurately and free of errors.

   The ability to recognize and correct errors.

   The ability to proofread and check your work and be attentive to detail.

Bruce did two very important things in this conversation. He explained the consequences of Leah’s behavior and its impact on others, and he reviewed his expectations, which were based on company standards and values. Behavioral expectations provide a means for objective evaluation that minimizes bias and provides meaningful information.⁴

Expectations based on performance standards are powerful in diffusing an argument and stopping a conflict in its tracks. June described a situation with an applicant who had taken and failed a data entry test several times because her error rate exceeded the standard. English was not the applicant’s first language, and she had difficulty understanding why she wasn’t hired. Her irate husband called in screaming at June, threatening to go over her head and call the company’s president. June waited for the chance to responds then calmly explained the criteria against which his wife’s performance was measured. After a long pause, he apologized; he now understood. June neutralized his behavior and its impact. Rather than react, she took away his stick—his perceived power and desire to go over her head to the president—by providing the facts.⁵

If it’s ability, rather than motivation, the challenge becomes improving performance through training or coaching. Consider Yusuf’s dilemma. He’s new to the organization and quickly realizes that Shelton is an average-to-poor writer. When he sits down to talk with him, Shelton becomes very defensive stating that he never received negative feedback about his writing skills from his former manager, Warren. He shuts down, refusing to acknowledge or respond to any of Yusuf’s further comments. During lunch, Shelton vents to his colleague about how unfair Yusuf is being. After all, their former manager was always satisfied with his work. His colleague confides that Warren often rewrote some of Shelton’s work because Warren was a non-confrontational type. He tells Shelton he agrees with Yusuf that Shelton’s writing is mediocre.

Yusuf, in the meantime, realizes that he has inherited a problem that was probably never addressed in the past. Although Shelton’s writing is barely acceptable, it’s not beyond help. There is still an opportunity for improvement. He asks himself a number of questions, including:

   What are the specific facts of this performance issue?

   Am I approaching this situation with the goal of creating an opportunity for this employee to be successful in the future?⁶

Realizing that Shelton has been operating under the illusion of competency for quite some time, Yusuf needs to create an opportunity for Shelton. He calls HR for advice and information about the company’s educational assistance program and individual development and improvement processes.

The next time they meet, Yusuf thanks Shelton for coming to this meeting with an open mind and acknowledges that Shelton was probably caught off guard by his feedback at the last meeting. He emphasizes that his expectations are different from Warren’s and reviews his expectations with Shelton. He provides examples of Shelton’s writing that don’t meet these expectations. Finally, he suggests that they work on a plan together to help Shelton strengthen his skills and improve his performance. After some discussion, they agree on the following:

   Shelton will allow more time for planning and revising his writing assignments.

   Yusuf or a designated colleague will review Shelton’s drafts and provide constructive feedback.

   A writing coach will be identified to work with Shelton and the company will pay the cost.

   Shelton will work with the coach on his own time for a 90-day period.

Although the approach and challenge to addressing a motivational issue rather than an ability issue may vary, they both have one thing in common: Expectations aren’t being met.

Raised Expectations

Sometimes expectations are not explicit but rather implied because of certain actions or events. Dante has been with the organization since it began and has shared in its growth. He’s done a great job as the accounting director and has always received positive feedback. He aspires to become CFO and has an expectation that he’ll be considered for that role when it becomes available. The CEO has a discussion with Dante explaining that although he has good accounting skills and has been successful in his current role, he needs to gain more finance experience. They work out a development plan to prepare Dante for a future promotion.

You place job listings and recruitment advertisements soliciting job candidates and you receive resumes. You solicit a service provider or consultant and receive proposals. Though you can’t choose them all, you’ve raised expectations that they’ll at least receive a response. Of course, you notify the successful candidates, but what about the unsuccessful ones? Be respectful of people’s time and efforts and close the loop; let the unsuccessful candidates know they were not selected.

The Right Approach

Violet was surprised to hear that some of her coworkers thought that Enrique’s approach in describing the policy change was too blunt. She interpreted it as factual and direct. What is the right approach and can you use the same approach with everyone? In a Harvard Business Review article, “How to Coach, According to 5 Great Sports Coaches,” different approaches are discussed. Sir Alex Ferguson, coach of Manchester United, says that “few people get better” with criticism; most respond to encouragement instead.” American football coach Bill Parcells, famous for turning around underperforming teams, prefers brutal honesty, saying, “You have to tell them the truth about their performance, you have to tell it to them face-to-face, and you have to tell it to them over and over again.”

A more balanced approach comes from Bill Walsh, the business-like coach of three Super Bowl-winning 1980s San Francisco 49ers football teams. He compared two of his most famous quarterbacks, Joe Montana and Steve Young, who were at opposite ends of the spectrum and adapted his style to meet their individual needs. He was careful to nurture Joe to use his instincts, whereas he had to work with Steve to be disciplined enough not to overuse his instincts and stay within the framework of what the team was doing. Bela Karolyi, the gymnastics coach, also tailored his approach to the situation. “Criticism and encouragement have to be alternated and used at the right time and in the right situation.”⁸

Both Bill Walsh and Bela Karolyi were implementing the Hersey/Blanchard Situational Leadership Model. Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey based their model on the theory that instead of using just one style, successful leaders change their leadership styles based on factors such as the situation, the details of the task, and their relationships with the people they are leading. The four main leadership styles are telling (or directing), selling (or coaching), participating (or supporting), and delegating.⁹

Appendix: Hersey/Blanchard Situational Leadership Model

To his credit, Enrique took the time to know his staff members and he often took different approaches with different individuals. However, in the staff meeting when he discussed the paid time off policy, he used the approach he felt best met the situation directing. He had to make a decision and provide specific instructions.

Confronting the Boss

The Situational Leadership Model can be applied to conflict management, and you need not have a formal title of “leader” to apply it. An individual can lead from any chair. Regardless of their position in the organization, they can effectively manage conflict.

Sandy works for Boris, a micromanager. She proposes a new process to him that will allow invoices to be prepared in a more efficient manner, but it means that he’ll have to relinquish some control to Sandy. It worked for a few days until he began hovering over Sandy’s desk, checking and rechecking her work; fearful, Sandy suspected, that she’ll make a mistake. Although Sandy is uncomfortable confronting Boris, she knows he wants a take-charge person, someone who is firm and declarative. It is not Sandy’s nature to be direct, but she understands that this is the way Boris wants to be treated. As difficult as it is for Sandy, she suggests to Boris that he let her do her work without interference so she can finish in a timely manner. This will give him more time to spend on other projects. If after two weeks the new process is not working or if she’s making mistakes, then they can decide together on a new course of action. If her work is relatively error-free, it will be much easier for both of them.¹⁰

Remember Claire and Jacob from Chapter 4? She needs to confront Jacob in order to set some expectations, but she knows that she needs to do it in a manner to which he’ll respond and respect. Jacob came from a very hierarchical organization where the chain of control trumped all other factors. The organization where they both work now has a matrix structure and reporting relationships are more fluid. However, even in a matrix structure, order and discipline are valued. That’s the hook she’ll need to use to get his attention.

When she approaches Jacob and requests a meeting, he’s aloof and indifferent, but nevertheless agrees. She begins by explaining that she was on a weekly status call with the client and that he interrupted her at a pivotal moment when she was giving her update. She explains the impact his behavior had on her: It was difficult for her to concentrate while he paced in her office and she was concerned that the client would perceive her as hesitant and unprepared. If they perceived she was not confident, would they think she lacked the discipline for this rigorous project? Claire had assumed the role of leader and was employing the directive style.

As Jacob responds to Claire, she switches her leadership style to selling as she explains how their organization is structured and operates. In this matrix structure, she’s accountable to the client, to the project leader, and to him, stressing that their clients value order and discipline from the firm as their service provider. Acknowledging that this environment is different than the ones in which he’s used to working, Claire switches her style once again to be participating and suggests that they collaborate to set mutual expectations for working with each other. Jacob agrees and asks if they can set a meeting for the next day so he has some time to prepare.

Expectations play a critical role in conflict management. Setting and adhering to expectations can prevent a conflict or keep it from escalating. Expectations provide a set of standards and make people accountable and help maintain constructive relationships at work. When expectations are not met, facts should be presented showing how the behavior or performance didn’t measure up, diffusing any potential confrontation by making it difficult to refute the facts. Take the initiative to make things better and lead by example.

Essential Tips

   People want to know what’s expected of them. Tell them early and tell them often.

   Be accountable for the expectations you set and hold others accountable as well.

   Change behavior by pointing out natural consequences—the impact of the actions on others.

   Expectations can be implied as well as expressed. When you’ve raised expectations through your actions, don’t keep people hanging. Close the loop.

   Adjust your leadership style to the situation and the people involved.

   Don’t be afraid to lead from any chair in the organization.