Julia had a breakthrough, at least she hoped that’s what it was.
“Ralph thought I was going to tell how to do his job,” she said. “I could tell he was baiting me. He had some story about the last manager, how he tried to change things. Ralph seemed proud that, three months later, the team was successful in running him off.”
“How long has Ralph worked here?” I asked.
“Seven years.”
“And you?”
“Seven months, but I have an engineering degree and five years with another company.” Julia was trying not to be defensive.
“Do you think Ralph cares about that?”
Julia slowed her response. “No, not really.”
“So, what was the breakthrough today?”
“Well, he didn’t say he was going to try and run me off, too.”
“Okay, we will call that a start.” -TF
Bullying is a common workplace phenomenon. If a boss is a old hand and employess are new the boss bullies ( depending on his personality, experinces, values and upbringing), if the boss is new employees are old then the boss gets bullied, especially if he is under promotion and the juniors are permanant.
In all other situations too group dynamics is always on. It is upon you to win support of some of the employees. Form a cliche in the legion and survive and earn your bread.
Julia’s degree and experience probably mean nothing to Ralph.
And, Julia probably did have a breakthrough. She didn’t tell Ralph how to do his job.
I always advise my coaching clients (especially those who are new leaders) to focus on the results they are expecting from the people they manage, not how the individual goes about accomplishing the result. In this way, people will not feel micromanaged, and leaders will be seen as empowering rather than tyrannical.
Interesting post.
Bud Bilanich
The Common Sense Guy
http://www.CommonSenseGuy.com