Lead Without Blame by Diana Larsen

Author:Diana Larsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Behavior Challenges

Challenges inevitably arise with cooperative and collaborative work. The framing of conflict challenges frequently has a similar structure: How do I <stop, manage, address, etc.> <person(s)> from <negative behavior(s)>?

People seek resolutions that address the issue specifically with the problem person. But that is based on an assumption that the individual displaying this behavior is the problem. Learning leaders start with a focus on the setting that enables the behavior to occur.

For example, an influential team member may get labeled “bossy.” They speak way too much and make all the decisions in the retrospective. A common reaction is to call this person a “jerk” and gossip about their control issues. What if they hate inefficient meetings and think they are helping by moving things along? When we only interact with critiques about their behavior, we limit the learning opportunities.

An operations director asked an HR leader, Lin, for feedback. The director expressed concerns about his operational managers. He was upset with their lack of engagement. Lin spoke with the six operational managers. They all mentioned their discomfort with the new director. They called him “a typical pointy-haired boss.” To them, he seemed detached and only out for his own career, not for the good of the department or the company.

Trying to understand the bigger system, Lin dug deeper. The director role had recently been created as a condition of funding by a major investor. He’d been hired only a few months before. Previously, the operation managers reported directly to the vice president of operations. Now the director reported to the vice president. In the managers’ perspectives, the director intentionally blocked their connection to decision makers. Lin heard that the director made decisions that overrode what the teams needed. The operational managers thought he was blocking progress, and started limiting interactions to reduce frustration. From the director’s perspective, he was doing his job. He believed he didn’t need to understand the past; he was supposed to create a new, higher-performing future. He was trying to make progress.

Also, Lin learned that the director was rarely present. Three weeks after his onboarding, the director was pulled away to deal with family issues. When he came back, he was quickly pulled away again, this time for an off-site quarterly reporting session with the investors. This was followed by his accompanying the directors of product and sales to several key customer meetings. Yet he knew that if he didn’t get quick results, he could lose his job and the company could lose funding. To keep things moving, he had to make a few fast decisions.

Lin perceived how each individual saw the problem from the perspective of their own needs. Yet it was a systemic issue. Changes had occurred in their work system. They couldn’t go back to the old way, but they hadn’t yet discovered a new, more effective way to work as a team. They were stuck in the middle of this change, and they needed to learn their way out.

When Lin gave an overview of her observations to the director, he was stunned.

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