When I was a little girl, I remember my mother watching her daily soap operas: “All My Children” and “General Hospital”. There was always some sort of high drama – could Erica trust Adam to keep her secret? Would Luke forgive Laura for having an affair? Trust and forgiveness were always common themes.
Fast forward to 2011 and not much has changed. Daytime Drama is alive and well and living in the workplace. Oh, many of the details have changed, but there are still ongoing personality conflicts, communication breakdown and a general lack of trust.
I often hear clients talk about the costliness of absenteeism. I would venture to say that ranks a close second to the cost of workplace drama. Productivity, morale and the time spent resolving the issues are just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s take a look an example of a typical workplace issue.
Sally Rogers is the Director of Quality for TEXMEX, a Mexican Foods Company. Rick Evans oversees Production. With the holidays around the corner, Rick has been under a lot of pressure to deliver double the product with 25% fewer staff. Rick’s annual bonus is tied to meeting production goals, so he is willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Over the week end he came in to work with wife and his teenaged son to try and make up some of the shortfall. Rick’s production is on target, but Sally has noticed that the tortilla quality has deteriorated and is not up to standards. Sally was pretty ticked off on Monday afternoon when she saw Rick in the break room. When she approached him about his unacceptable tortillas, he told to “chill out”, and not have a “hissy fit”; that “a few imperfect tortillas were normal and no big deal”. Sally didn’t appreciate his condescending tone. She lashed out at him and told him he was “an incompetent ass”.
Sally is suspicious that Rick is bringing in illegal workers off the clock to make his quotas. She has no proof, but she doesn’t trust him. Both Rick and Sally are frustrated. Neither has gone to their General Manager to complain as they don’t want to look like they are unable to work together.
Sally has complained to her assistant Jim that Rick is “a snake who’s only out to save his own butt” and who doesn’t care about the company’s reputation. Rick told his foreman Harry that Sally “needs to get a life, find herself a good man and lighten up”. Of course, both Jim and Harry have shared these comments with THEIR close friends in the company. As a result, everyone knows about the bad feelings. Everyone feels tense, waiting for the next blow-up.
Does this type of situation sound familiar? When two managers experience a conflict it can be very damaging to both of the managers on many levels: their reputation, their credibility, employee respect, staff morale and overall productivity. In the scenario above there is a lack of trust and respect on both sides. Is Rick really wrong to bring in his family to help get him through a rough spot? Does Sally’s communication style and approach make Rick feel threatened? How could a trusting relationship impact their ability to get their jobs done smoothly and without drama?
How would you handle this situation?
