Workplace Investigations

As a Manager, sooner or later, you’ll have to deal with either employee dishonesty, or an employee complaint that requires you to investigate.  Join the Wily Manager guys this week, as they talk about how Managers can conduct good investigations.

Monday’s Tip: Assess the risk. The nature of the complaint will determine the level of risk the organization may be exposed to.  Your first decision is to determine how exposed to risk the organization may be.

Tuesday’s Tip: Figure out who needs to be involved. The complaint may require that you call the police.  In other cases you may want to involve your HR or Legal people.   In some cases (depending on the risk) you can manage the complaint on your own.

Wednesday’s Tip: Stick to the relevant facts.  Don’t get caught up in the myriad of trivia that others will inevitably drag into an investigation.  Focus only on what is material to the matter at hand.

Thursday’s Tip: Conduct investigative interviews. You will need to talk to all parties involved in the complaint, as well as any witnesses.  Sit down in advance, and determine who you need to talk to.

Friday’s Tip: Take action. You must move to action based on your investigation.  Even if you choose to do nothing, you need to do so deliberately (rather than just not getting around to dealing with the situation).

Dealing With a Difficult Boss

If you secretly fantasize about throwing you boss in front of a moving train, then you’ll want to join the Wily Manager guys this week as they offer a few more constructive ways to deal with a difficult boss.

Monday’s Tip: Think through the consequences of ratting out your boss. There is a reasonable probability that ratting on your boss will backfire.  Make sure you’ve considered this possibility.

Tuesday’s Tip: Consider sitting down with him/her personally and expressing your concerns. Dealing directly with a difficult boss can be an effective solution in many cases.  This is far less professional risk if you try this first.

Wednesday’s Tip: Realize you only control your own behavior. It would be nice if you could make others change, but you can’t so focus on things you might be able to do to influence a different outcome with you boss.

Thursday’s Tip: Don’t believe what you see on TV. Telling off the boss in front of others, and then have that boss realize the errors of his ways, and reforming for good only happens on crap-TV shows.  Reality is quite a bit different.

Friday’s Tip: Consider leaving as a last resort. If you can’t reconcile your relationship with your boss, don’t think the organization will be rid of the boss.  Most likely it will be you who is encouraged to leave.

Dealing With a Rotten Boss

Once you’ve ruled out killing your boss (due to the lengthy prison sentence), you may want to form some other strategies to deal with a difficult boss.  Join Jed and Bob as they talk about some of the things you can do to manage a difficult situation with your boss.

Watch the ‘Dealing With a Rotten Boss’ Video (15 mins 26 sec):


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Dealing With a Rotten Boss

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There are good bosses, bad bosses, and downright Rotten Bosses.  Below we offer some suggestions as to how to deal with a Rotten Boss.

Ways You Can Deal With a Rotten Boss

  • Throw your Rotten Boss “under the bus”.
  • Hug it out with your Rotten Boss
  • Give your Rotten Boss  the “It’s not you, it’s me” speech.
  • Leave your Rotten Boss behind.

Throw Your Rotten Boss “Under the Bus”.

You have to think very carefully before you attempt to take down your Rotten Boss.  There are some significant risks:

  • Be prepared for nothing to change.  You expose yourself to some professional risk, and nothing may change.  Unless you boss has done something illegal or against policy, there may be little the organization can do.
  • Be prepared for it to get worse.  If you undermine your boss, it is very possible s/he will discover from whom the complaint originated, in which case, it may be even less comfortable for you.

If you have considered the risk, and still want to complain about your boss, you can do some things to increase your chances of success:

  • Strength in numbers:  If you can find a number of others to come forward, you avoid the “he said, she said” situation, and the organization may have to act.
  • Documentation.  Much like a problem employee, you should begin a paper trail.  Write down incidents and occurrences with you boss including who was involved, as well as the date and time.

Hug it Out With Your Rotten Boss

A less risky strategy is for you to attempt to resolve your situation with your boss without involving the larger organization:

  • Sit down with your boss and discuss exactly how you are feeling.  It is possible your boss does not understand how you feel.  It is also possible you have misunderstood or misinterpreted some events.  Leave your mind open to this possibility.
  • You may also want to invite your boss to share his or her work preferences with you.  By better defining expectations about what work s/he wants done, and how it should be conducted, you may be able to resolve your Rotten Boss issues.

Give Your Rotten Boss the “It’s not you, it’s me” Speech.

If you take on more than your fair share of the “blame” for a dysfunctional relationship, it could be viewed as a display of humility that may begin to heal the situation:

  • Ask yourself honestly how you are contributing to the relationship with your boss.  You could very well be doing things that contribute to the dysfunction.
  • Remember that you only control you own behavior, so once you begin to act differently, your Rotten Boss may respond differently.
  • Learn what your boss wants and doesn’t want, likes and doesn’t like, and how to do the kind of job your boss is looking for.

Leave Your Rotten Boss Behind

In some cases, all your efforts to repair your relationship with your boss will fail.  If this is the case, you cannot count on your boss leaving anytime soon, so you should make the decision to look for alternatives:

  • Look for an internal transfer
  • Ask for a lateral move
  • Leave the organization.

Only in the Movies

Many victims of a Rotten Boss may fantasize about completely inappropriate things they might do to solve the problem.  The list below is purely for entertainment value, and should not be attempted:

  • Take him out for a drink after work, then call the cops and report a drunk driver when he leaves.
  • When he leaves his desk, send offensive emails from his computer in his name.  Suggestions include pornographic pictures and videos, sexual and racist jokes, and complaints about senior management.
  • Log on to his computer and visit numerous sites of illegal activity, then tip off IT.
  • Write anonymous letters to your local paper, your CEO, websites, and anyone else you can think of, outlining all of the offenses committed by your Rotten Boss.

Three Things to Remember About Dealing With a Rotten Boss:

  1. Proceed with caution.  Don’t underestimate the risk to your career.
  2. Once you start, be prepared to leave.  If the organization doesn’t do away with your boss, they may choose to do away with you.
  3. Make sure your own backyard is squeaky clean.  If you make accusations, you should ensure that you cannot be targeted for any inappropriate behavior.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Dealing With a Rotten Boss (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

Looking for the Full-Length Podcast/Video? …

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Working for Idiots

Believe it or not, it is possible that you are a very nice person, but a horrible boss.  The stuff of Hollywood legends, and blog anti-heroes is that of the grand-mal, asshole boss.  The person who is evil incarnate, and takes great pleasure in making others miserable.

I’ve worked in dozens of organizations either as an employee, contractor or consultant – and I’ve never met this person.  I have met a number of horrible bosses, and usually they qualify as horrible for much more subtle reasons than sitting in a corner office, and laughing like Dr. Evil while pulling the wings off living insects.  Below are some of the most common horrible boss types.

Everybody’s Best Friend – this is the most common type of horrible boss.  This person has a high need to be liked by others, and should therefore never be put in a position of leadership.  Unfortunately, we usually promote people who are good technically at the work, and rarely test a person’s ability to be disliked by others – a core skill for leaders.

Mr. Insecure – This poor guy feels pressure from above because he’s probably not very good at what he does.  He also thinks this peers and his direct reports are out to get him.  As a result, he takes irrational actions and makes poor decisions.  If you wait it out long enough, this guy usually manages to get himself fired.

Ms. Moody – This person is delightful one day, and a nightmare the next.  You need to look for the cues in the morning as to what kind of day she is having.  You can also be rest assured that when she’s having a bad day, you’ll have a bad day.

The Visionary – this person can be a good leader if and when he has a brilliant manager back him up.  When this ingredient is missing, this is the person that comes up with a bunch of great ideas, but has no ability to implement them.  One tell-tale sign of this type of horrible boss is assigning the same task to several different people.

The Prince of Darkness – this type of horrible boss desperately reinforces the hierarchy at every chance.  She will usually do this because she never really expected to amount to much, and probably feels like an imposter much of the time.  She’s so desperate not to be discovered, that she’ll do anything not to compromise her place on the corporate food chain.

Armed with this information, it is now your job to ensure that YOU are not any of these types of horrible boss.  You can’t change their behavior (unless of course you choose to commit bossicide), but you can make sure that your direct reports are never exposed to such things.

Don’t Trust the Trust Game

“Let’s take everyone off-site for team building.  It will help get people out of their comfort zones.”

The last time I heard that, I ran away so fast, there was a Bob-shaped hole in the exit door.  I’m not exactly sure what logic leads people to believe that one day away from the office is going to make up for poor management and inadequate leadership on all the other days of the year, but you need to think very carefully about how and when you take your team offsite.

Don’t get me wrong… I do think some of these outings can be fun.  I just don’t think it will have any impact on the business or the people.  I am reminded of the manager who decided that taking his team out for Karaoke would be a good idea.  It would help them bond as a group, and promote creativity.  For the one aspiring rock star of the group, it was a great time.  The rest of the people, however, were jaded and cynical that they had to sit through Karaoke without the one necessary ingredient to make it fun – booze.

Think about it – if you want to breach people’s comfort zones, then it depends a lot on the people.  If you have a bunch of Type-A extroverts, then getting them to play silly games, and make asses of themselves is well within their comfort zones.  The introverts will be horrified, and the extroverts will be in their element.  If you really want to breach the extroverts’ comfort zones, get them to sit quietly for an hour and read a book.

I’m also reminded of the group that was encouraged to play the “trust game” where you fall backwards and trust that your team will catch you.  You guessed it – one broken wrist later, they discovered it had far less to do with trust than it did with the physical logistics of catching 200 pounds in the palms of half-a-dozen sets of hands.

The bottom line is that most forms of group training and other team building exercises are a waste of time and money.  There needs to be specific desired behavior changes that can be measured back in the workplace, otherwise save your money, and just take your team out for dinner instead.  It will be cheaper, it is more sincere, and it will be appreciated more.

Offsite Meetings: Advancing the Retreat

Getting out of the building might be a good way to encourage creative thinking, but it can also be a huge waste of time and money.  Join Jed & Bob as they discuss how you might structure an offsite meeting to maximize the benefit.

Watch ‘Offsite Meetings: Advancing the Retreat’ Video (15 mins 04 sec):


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Company Retreats & Offsite Meetings

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For some organizations, Company Retreats represent a considerable expense, and their value are often questionable.  Below we talk about various types of Company Retreats, as well as how to (and how not to) structure them.

Company Retreats Out of the Building

There are some benefits of taking people out of their element for a meeting.  It can be a very good way of minimizing distractions that exist at the office.  You are more likely to be able to hold everyone’s attention if they can’t run back to their desk at break times.  Sometimes this is as easy as getting a conference room at a nearby hotel.

Company Retreats Out of the City

Some organizations like to hold meetings out of the local area entirely.  In some cases, companies have meeting participants that are scattered around the country (or the world), so getting them all together necessitates getting people out of the city.  If you do this:

  • Avoid group vacations.  These may be well intended, but often have unintended negative consequences.
  • Be very clear in what you are trying to achieve.  This type of Company Retreat is very expensive, so it is not good enough to simply have such a meeting simply because you do so every year.

Getting People Out of Their Comfort Zones

Taking people on a Company Retreat to get them out of their comfort zone may be a well intended exercise, but it often generates cynicism and negativity.  Be very cautious in these circumstances.

  • Silly games often have no purpose.  Some people find them fun; others find them annoying; most people find them pointless.
  • Getting people out of their comfort zones is a highly individual thing.  It is nearly impossible to have one exercise or game that could have a uniform impact on people and their comfort zones.
  • Beware of physical limitations.  Not everyone on your team has the same physical capacity.  It can create hard feelings or embarrassment if someone is not able to participate to the same degree.

Cautions for Any Company Retreat

  • You need to have a clear purpose.  What are you trying to get out of this retreat?
  • Something needs to be different afterwards.  What action, performance or behaviour will be different as a result of conducting this Company Retreat?
  • People have families, and lives outside of work.  If you take people away from home, be well aware of how disruptive it can be for some people.
  • Watch for liability issues.  If someone gets hurt (or otherwise injured) on your Company Retreat, are you adequately insured?  Do not minimize the potential risk.
  • You need to manage perceptions.  If you take people away for a weekend golf trip, consider the impact on:
    • Participants’ spouses and families.
    • Participants themselves.  Some will simply say, “Just give me the money”.
    • Other employees.  If you only take some people away, what will the others think?
    • Clients.  It is possible your clients will perceive your Company Retreat as evidence they are paying you too much.

Properly Structuring Your Company Retreat

  • Have a clear purpose
    • Desired outcomes
    • Agenda in advance
    • Pre-work required
  • Be clear on what will be different afterwards
  • Manage perceptions carefully
  • Think very carefully about silly games, and the risks and benefits of them

3 Things to Remember

  1. Meetings are expensive.  Calculate your return on investment, and think carefully about whether you should do it or not.
  2. Team building doesn’t happen in a day (or a weekend).  Great performance is a result of great leadership throughout the year.  One Company Retreat will not elevate the sense of team, or performance in any significant way.
  3. Manage the perceptions carefully.

Watch the ‘3-Minute Crash Course’ about Company Retreats and Offsite Meetings (CLICK THE ARROW TO START THE VIDEO):

Looking for the Full-Length Podcast/Video? …

Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!

Company Retreats & Offsite Meetings

If you’re thinking about taking your team offsite, you’ll want to join the Wily Manager guys this week, as they talk about how to do this effectively.  Lay off the silly games, and have a clear purpose for your meeting.

Monday’s Tip: Meetings are Expensive – calculate your return. If you can’t calculate the value a meeting will add, you shouldn’t have the meeting.  Question the value you’re getting out of your offsite meeting.

Tuesday’s Tip: Have a Clear Purpose. What performance, action, or behavior do you want to be different as a result of your Offsite meeting?  If you are unsure, you need to nail this down before having the meeting.

Wednesday’s Tip: Be Cautious With Silly Games. Silly games often have little value, and have no impact on team cohesion or performance.  Be extremely cautious – a poorly executed exercise may do far more harm than good.

Thursday’s Tip: Remember People Have Lives Outside of Work. A golf weekend away with the people from work may looking like fun on the surface, but people have other commitments as well that need to be considered.

Friday’s Tip: Manage Perceptions Carefully. If you chose to recognize your team by taking them away to a nice resort, consider the optics of this to other employees, clients and your employee’s families.

 

At Which End Should You Crack Your Egg?

As someone who travels a lot for work, I end up eating in restaurants a fair bit, and I sometimes end up having difficulty deciding between the chicken stir-fry, and the boiled fish.  Yep, that’s right, I have eating habits typical of an obese rabbit.  But I digress.

You can imagine the confusion I would cause if I simply didn’t decide on a meal.  For some indefinite period of time, I would become more and more famished, while the waiter, kitchen and support staff would wait (at first patiently), and then eventually boot me out for being such a twit.

Interestingly, this is exactly what happens to managers who fail to make decisions.  People will wait patiently for some period of time, perhaps make a recommendation or two, but eventually they’ll get angry and boot you out.

There are a variety of reasons that managers fail to make decisions, but there are two essential things for indecisive managers to remember:

1)   First, the decision you are about to (not) make, is really not all that important.  It’s about as consequential as my choice between chicken and fish.  Unless you are reading this as the head of some nation-state headed for armed conflict (in which case, I’d love your comments below, Mr. Netanyahu), then don’t flatter yourself by thinking that decision you’re delaying has any serious consequence.

2)   The wrong decision today, is better than the correct decision a month from now.  At least if you make the wrong decision now, it will become clear quickly, and you can change course.  Just ask the guys who came up with the genius idea of “New Coke” a few years back.  The old Coke was only off the shelf for a matter of seconds before they realized they’d made a huge mistake.  It took a few more seconds to correct course, and get back to the business of pedaling sugar-water to the entire world, and kicking Pepsi’s ass.

So it’s time to quit agonizing and make a decision.  When in doubt, flip a coin – the worst you’ll do is relive the New Coke fiasco.  Start tomorrow morning by making the important decision of which side of your egg you should crack (with due credit to Jonathan Swift – look it up).

 

 

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