From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:
I’ve been in charge of a project for nearly a year. I go away on vacation and come back to rumors about me all over the place and it appears my boss gave my project away to someone else.

I confronted him about it and he still says I am in charge so I boldly take charge. I think things are going ok again, until I find out both my boss and the “substitute” project manager are undermining my authority behind my back.

Response:
Politics uncovered. This is a script from Dunder Mifflin, but it’s not funny when it’s your job being worked around. You are either already out and your boss doesn’t have the guts to tell you or the “substitute” project manager has an alternate agenda, probably hidden.

Either way, your response is still the same. As you enter this conversation with your boss remember this:

The person who can best describe reality without laying blame will emerge the leader.

While this scenario seems to be all about you and a competitive threat from a colleague, the reason to get it resolved with clarity is bigger than you. Here is the way I would approach your boss.

“I thought we had come to some resolution about the ABC Project, but there still seems to be confusion on the part of my team that I am unable to clear up. This is important to both me and the company, because, as long as there is confusion, my team can’t be as productive as we need them to be. As the Project Manager of the ABC Project, I have made task assignments to achieve the goals we agreed to. Since my return from vacation, my team has received conflicting task assignments from other people. These conflicting task assignments are causing confusion, rumors, gossip and behaviors that have nothing to do with reaching our goals.

“I can get my team re-focused on the goals of the project, but not when they are getting mixed signals. I would like to get this situation resolved so I can get my team back to work. In what way can we make sure that, as a management team, we are sending clear signals?”

Then listen. Listen carefully.

Some of you missed yesterday’s busted link to Michelle Malay Carter’s post on Who is Accountable? Should work this time.

So, who is accountable? Managers have been taught to play all kinds of games with this. My favorite is Results Based Performance. When I ask a group how many subscribe to that philosophy, the hands shoot up with enthusiasm.

But Results Based Performance isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In most cases, it is a manager abdicating their managerial responsibilities. If a team member was a goose and the intended result was a golden egg, it’s as if the manager said, “I don’t know how to manage, I don’t how to encourage, support, train, or any of those other managerial things, so I will only count your golden eggs. And that is how I will judge how you are doing.”

The number of golden eggs seldom tells the story about performance. The number of golden eggs says more about the managerial system than it does the goose.

Given a management problem, we often take the (high/low, you pick) road looking for the pesky employee scoundrel who screwed things up. We look for things like personality conflicts or breakdowns in communication. As managers, we seldom look at the systems we have created, which point to the real culprit.

Michelle Malay Carter has a post which describes the monkey we put on the backs of our team members, when the real monkey-wrench is in our systems. Read more on Who Is Accountable?

“What’s the game?” I asked.

“It’s not a game,” Marcus assured. “We can’t promise anything about future employment, and we have to make sure all the work gets done. I can’t have someone on my team cornering all the work, looking busy, while the rest of the team sits idle.”

“What’s the game?” I repeated.

Marcus took in a deep breath. “Hiding all the work, so you look busy, while others sit idle. Meantime, project are getting behind because only one person is working.”

“But, it’s not a game?” I confirmed.

“Okay, okay, it IS a game,” Marcus relented. “But, it shouldn’t be a game. I just don’t know how to stop the vicious cycle.”

“What have you told them about future layoffs?” I asked.

“You know we can’t make any promises. We let two more people go last month, even though we thought we were through with reductions,” Marcus replied.

“So, they may ignore what you say and watch only what you do?”

Marcus grimaced. “Okay, I get that. Everyone is still concerned for their job. But, at the same time, we need to spread the work out to make sure it all gets done. I can’t have one or two people cornering all the projects, or hiding work that needs to be done, just to make sure they can look busy.”

“What has to change to make that happen?”

Just exactly what is a manager accountable for?

This is not a production job, there is no direct output. Production is only accomplished through other people. So, what are the four managerial authorities? And what are the four managerial accountabilities?

On Monday, Working Leadership Online, kicks off its next series.

• Sep 14 – Managerial Authorities – Time Span and Accountability
• Oct 5 – Managerial Authorities – Time Span and Hiring Talent
• Oct 26 – Time Span and the Performance Effectiveness Appraisal

If you would like a free login to this series, we are opening (10) scholarships. If you would like to participate, please respond to Ask Tom.

“I am still uncomfortable with confrontation,” Lauren explained. “There is a knot in the middle of my stomach.”

“How long have you felt this way?”

“About a week,” she said. “He is not doing his best. I saw that. I only started to feel uncomfortable when I knew I had to say something to him.”

“So, your stomach is your guidepost?”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Your stomach is a valuable detector. Here is one thing for certain. If your stomach is upside down, it is likely you are dealing with a real issue. If your stomach feels fine, you can be assured you are avoiding the real issue.”

Lauren felt fine until the point of confrontation. While she observed underperformance, she was fine as long as she avoided the issue. Your stomach is a valuable detector. What issues are you avoiding?

Managers contribute to underperformance by avoiding the issue. Managers hope. I am here to tell you there is no hope. There is only the conversation.

In our Working Leadership Online program, I asked a participant to describe the benefit of the Field Work related to accountability.

“Getting over the fear of having the conversation. I was scared it would spiral out of control. The meeting went nothing like I anticipated.”

We provide a proven model to deal with underperformance, but the biggest obstacle is still the fear of confrontation. Our model not only addresses the underperformance, but also the fear on the part of the manager. Here are the essential steps.

• Describe the behavior (underperformance) you observed, as a manager.
• Describe the impact of the behavior.
• Describe the implications of what will happen if nothing changes.
• Describe your contribution to the underperformance, as a manager. (Yes, as a manager, you are part of the problem.)
• Describe the ideal outcome.
• Ask for an action plan.
• Listen.

Except for the last step, this is a monologue, lasting less than 60 seconds. There are some other ground rules, but this is the core. Now, check your fear at the door.

“Why are you avoiding this conversation with Curtis?” I asked.

“I know I should talk to him, but I just don’t like confrontation. His production is below par. I don’t think he is doing his best. But if I talk to him, he might get upset and his production might get slower,” Lauren explained.

“How do you define confrontation?”

“Curtis screws up and I call him on it.”

“And?”

“And he will try to defend himself with excuses. I will have to argue with his excuses. I will have to force my reasons against his excuses. I just want to avoid it,” she protested.

“What if you changed your definition of confrontation to a search for the truth. Instead of excuses, let’s find out what the real problem is and see if Curtis can fix it?” I suggested.

Sometimes, the way we understand a single word can change the way we see what we do. Many people avoid confrontation because it brings uncomfortable images. If we can see confrontation as a search for the truth, we can have the conversation with a more productive purpose.