“How do you discourage the end-run employee?” Joann complained. “I often get team members bypassing their manager and bringing their decisions to me. I don’t want to undercut the authority of their manager, but they have real issues and say they are not getting the support they need.”

“They are not getting the support they need, or they are not getting the support they want?” I asked. “As a child, if I didn’t get the support I wanted from mom (using the car on Friday night), I always went to Dad.”

“I don’t think that’s the case. It’s pretty easy to tell when I am being played. This is more serious.”

“What do you need to know? What do you think you need to do?”

Joann grimaced. “I think I need to put my foot down, send them back to their manager. For once, maybe, I can be too busy. I just need to stop this behavior.”

“And what if the problem isn’t with the team member? What if the problem is with their manager? What if this end-around behavior is a symptom of something that needs more attention?”