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Management Side
Week of 20 April 15: When everyone seems to be against you

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First, be absolutely sure you are correct in the path you are taking. Test this several ways. Checking with people you trust who are not directly involved in the outcome of what you are attempting to do is one of the best ways. Hint--these people are usually called mentors.

Once you are confident of the path, move to a plan of action.

But, first, how did you find yourself in this position to start with? Most likely you were brought in to change what has been occurring. Or perhaps you own the company and have decided you must change direction. No matter how you find yourself in this position, you must act. Further, you must act judiciously.

Make two sets of plans. One you keep "close to your vest." The other is the public one you allow your subordinates and superiors to see.

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Then start talking. Talk to everyone involved and talk to them often and repetitively. Challenge them on their positions (usually diplomatically, but occasionally you may have to "go berserk" depending on the audience and the progress not being attained). A caution on going berserk--don't do this often. If you do, people will become numb to it. Or, worse yet, modify their behavior to make sure they don't cause this reaction. The best manager I ever saw at this did it randomly. It took me years and my own departure from that venue to see what he was doing. I confronted him. He admitted, his "berserk" moments were entirely random, infrequent, and designed to keep everyone on their toes. When he got conditions to where he wanted them, he stopped this behavior completely.

Talking will assure the people involved that you are listening to them. And, indeed you are. However, you are not letting them divert you from the course you have set and vetted with your mentor(s). Slowly, carefully, this talk will turn them to your way of thinking.

If you are trying to change an organization that has been in existence for a long time, expect your efforts to take a long time. Progress will not necessarily be steady--it may come in bursts accompanied by occasional backsliding.

Sometimes, silence will be your most effective weapon (What? Jim, I thought you just told me to talk to everyone!). Silence can be used when people confront you with comments that are clearly meant to divert you from your path. It can also be used when you hear rumors about your methods, objectives and so forth. Silence, stony silence, is a very effective form of communication.

In other words, use talking and silence judiciously--both can be powerful.

While we are talking about conversing, make sure you spend plenty of time listening, too. Listening will expose your subordinates' fears and prejudices. It may be that they are fearful just because you want to change things. They may be prejudiced against your changes. Ever heard, "We tried that before, it didn't work"? That is a prejudicial statement; in other words, the speaker has pre-judged the results of what you want to do.

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What is the root cause of their fear? They may be held accountable in ways they have not been held accountable before. They may be required to do tasks for which they do not feel qualified or do not want to do. They may fear losing their job, status, or free time. There are many reasons they can be fearful--you have to find out what these are (listening) and then react in the appropriate manner.

Their prejudices, besides, "we already tried that" may emanate from their lack of acceptance of you as their leader, their disappointment at not being appointed leader themselves, or any number of other issues. You will have to sort these out.

They may, without even recognizing it themselves, want to honor some fond leader from the past which they held in high esteem. They will honor that person by refusing to change the precepts in which they believe and which came from that person. These come in all forms--there may be a report that has been done the same way for ten years, a style of management that they were taught early in their careers or something completely off the wall.

At the end of the day, realize being the one charged with changing an organization means you are leading a lonely life. You will be questioned, questioned to the point you will question yourself. It will take longer than you think. You will become frustrated and will have to find a place to take out your frustrations somewhere other than on your subordinates or your family.

In the end, however, the satisfaction is worth it. Changes needed to be made and you made them happen. This is one of the best rewards of your management career.

What do you think? You can take our quiz this week online here.

Safety programs are a place where change is often not required, but demanded. If you are put in charge of making a safety change in your facility, accept it--there are not many higher callings.

Be safe and we will talk next week.

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