On The Front Lines, 11.08
Barbara Arney, director of faculty development, on finding the root cause of conflict
Barbara Arney, Director of faculty development and senior consultant with Rapid Change, also works as a coach with family-owned businesses. She recalls facilitating a session with two Vice Presidents from different divisions whose differences had paralyzed on-time deliveries and provoked sky-rocketing customer complaints.
All meaningful direct communication had been cut off for nine months and each of them did end-runs to the owner of the company—“just” to keep the him informed. Gameboard behavior started at the top and rippled through every level of the company, creating confusion and hostility.
As they peeled off the layers of the stand-off, the bottom line had nothing to do with all the things they fought over—like “right” strategy, equipment, or personnel. In the end they both agreed on what was needed. Simple “respect” was what they each wanted: one, for his 30 years of loyalty and experience; the other, for his fresh knowledge and innovation.
Once the toxic emotions were processed, they quickly rolled up their sleeves and got back to working together, using the strengths of each.
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On The Front Lines, 10.08
Tom Jacobs, senior faculty, on expensive behaviors
Tom Jacobs, senior consultant with Rapid Change for the past 11 years, also works for 3M as a coach to leaders and staff. He is struck by how many leaders get in so much of a hurry to “fix” things they leave their staff behind. The result is almost always toxic behaviors that end up slowing the company down and costing it lots of money.
“If only leaders could remember that: people drive the business and emotions drive people,” Tom says. “Slowing down to inquire about the emotional impact of a decision helps people feel respected and valued. “
Tom was working with a west coast manufacturer who had two shifts locked in a costly game of “sabotage.” The apparent “accidental” slowdowns hurt production, increased downtime on the line, and created an internal “war” between shifts with deep animosity. Through a facilitated conversation, the company discovered that one shift had felt left out of the decision-making process, but the actual root of the problem went back years to a prank of one guy stealing the Bic pen of another. What started out with humor turned into expensive behaviors, with a half-million dollar price tag.
Knowing that toxic emotions drove the business at that site for more than two years, Tom asks, simply, “What if….they could have used a simple tool like “4 on the Floor” to have a chance to express those emotions and be ‘heard.’”
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