You ask: I manage an engineering R&D team that works for an excellent senior executive. However he has poor people skills and this is having an impact on the morale of my team. I’m not sure how to approach this, as I don't feel that I have the credibility to talk to him. I have approached others at his level and asked them to broach the subject with him, but none are willing to take him on. I'm going to have to do this myself or I will lose the respect of my team. How would you suggest I go about this?
Janet Answers: I’m wondering if the combination of poor people skills with a track record of high performance is exactly why none of this senior executive’s peers will ‘take him on’.
I’m betting this individual thrives on confrontation. So attempting to ‘take him on’ when you yourself admit that ‘you don’t feel you have the credibility to talk to him’ is a pretty daunting prospect and one not, I’d hasten to add, without personal risk. So whilst I admire your courage perhaps there is another way to obtain the same result… One that doesn’t require you to put your head on the block, when it shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Before you begin, stand back from this situation and ask yourself what you would like to happen as a result of taking action? Be clear on what you want. You say that this senior executive is an ‘excellent performer’. It’s clear to me that everyone recognises him as such. So yes, you could challenge him on all his ‘soft skill’ deficiencies but would that help you achieve your objective? Probably not.
Avoid thinking about the past and what has not worked and concentrate on what you want for the future and how this individual can help you achieve it.
Sun Tzŭ1 said: “the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.” By turning confrontation into collaboration you can create a win-win situation.
How do you do that? By taking one of the problems he has created for you back to him and asking for his help in solving it. First, and probably most importantly you will need permission to talk to this senior executive. That might sound odd but unless you have his attention he’s unlikely to listen to you or even grant you any of his ‘valuable’ time. Look for a legitimate opportunity to do this. If you report directly to this individual then you can request a meeting. If you don’t then you will have to create the opportunity to get your ‘problem’ in front of him; either directly or indirectly.
Now we all know the management saying ‘don’t bring me problems bring me solutions’. So your tactic should be to present a number of carefully considered solutions to your problem and ask your senior executive for help in selecting the best option.
• Do: Choose a problem that has a number of possible solutions; one that you can be open minded about.
• Don’t: Choose a problem that you feel really only has one solution just in case your executive rejects it out of hand.
Remember ‘soft skills’ are not one of the individual’s strength so don’t talk to him about feelings and morale. Talk to him in a language he understands; one of improved efficiency and shorter development lead-times.
Briefly summarise and publish (take care with your distribution list) agreements and actions taken. Be prepared to hold your executive accountable for his decisions and commitments. Business direction and policy can change quickly at the top of organisation. However that doesn’t mean that commitments taken can be ignored it just means that they need to be renegotiated.
No manager wants ‘yes men or women’ around them but the longer they are left on their own the harder it is to accept input from others. Keep what you want clearly in mind and if things start to veer off course be prepared to disagree and defend your position.
Hopefully these tactics will help you to build a stronger working relationship with your senior executive. However it will require some effort on your part; effort that you may not feel you have to spare. In that case you should consider lobbying for support from your peers or your HR department and exploring whether they can help.
You do not have to do this on your own. You may find that once you share your tactics with others they will be more willing to help.
1 Sun zŭT was a fifth century military strategist whose book ‘The Art of War’ although written twenty-five centuries ago still provides useful insight into conflict today. The Art of War is published by Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-340-27604-5.
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