The problem
Jane was appointed UK CEO to a multinational industrial company a year ago. She is bright, knowledgeable and capable, but is experiencing challenges with the board directors who report to her. While maintaining a veneer of politeness, aggression occasionally surfaces. No one says what they mean and the real meetings take place in twos and threes behind closed doors afterwards.
The board members complain to the head of HR, Tom, that Jane is difficult to work with, critical and controlling. Important decisions are not being consolidated because of this. There is a feeling of despondency and people are threatening to leave. Jane feels she can make faster and more effective decisions than the board and cannot understand why they resent it.
Tom has spent a great deal of time informally coaching and advising Jane. They reach a decision to introduce coaching skills training and one-to-one coaching for all members of the directorate. However, Jane does not see any reason to participate.
She believes the problems lie with individual members of her staff and that coaching will “fix” them. She tells Tom that they will listen to their coaches, who should be primed to help them make decisions she wants to hear. How can Jane be persuaded to participate and learn from the programme herself?
The solution
Jane needs help in understanding the impact she has on people. One of the least threatening ways of doing this is through Richard Barrett’s Cultural Transformation tools (www.values centre.com). All relevant staff, including Jane, should complete a survey exploring their personal values, the values their organisation currently displays and the values they would like it to display. The resulting report would highlight problems such as Jane’s over-controlling style without naming names and making her feel defensive.
If Jane still does not accept that she needs help, she may need to be confronted with the possibility of being replaced if she cannot improve relations with the board. It is usually the case that all parties concerned want to work happily together, help each other and make the organisation and themselves successful. What is often lacking is the “how”.
It is not unusual for people at this level, often aged over 40, to have missed out on the coaching skills training that many younger members will have received at some point in their careers. Senior leaders are usually offered more advanced courses that do not cover the basic skills. Therefore I would start with a basic course in listening, questioning, clarifying, and so on.
I find that even the most cynical and recalcitrant executives become enthusiastic about the training from the moment they take part in a coaching exercise and realise how useful coaching skills can be. It is better that people are forced to attend the training than not come at all. One-to-one coaches will help the rest of the team to deal with the situation and support Jane as she develops her management style.
Carol Wilson
Managing director, Performance Coach Training
The problem seems to lie with Jane’s understanding of what “empowerment” is. Although she thinks she can make faster decisions than the directorate, it is likely that they have been habitualised into thinking she will do it for them; and are holding back their own thoughts.
Despite informal coaching from Tom, Jane doesn’t seem to have got the message about the impact of her behaviour. Perhaps Tom needs some support in how to approach revealing a blind spot with someone this senior? A 360-degree feedback survey would help.
Jane could be asked to check that the coaching programme will really deliver the results required and the best way to do this is for her to experience it. Ensure that the facilitator sets up the workshop so that while Jane is there to evaluate it, she must behave as a delegate in order to get the true picture and experience all the exercises.
Alternatively, ask the directorate to return six weeks later for a review day to discuss the techniques they have used, including the impact it has had on their teams and the business. This should encourage Jane to seek some of the same techniques.
In terms of team repair, a great model to use is Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Jossey Bass, 2002). The model shows that if teams do not have the climate of trust to discuss issues openly and have a “passionate” debate about conflict, there will always be “public compliance and private defiance” a symptom of what Lencioni describes as “artificial harmony”. This model would stimulate valuable conversations among the team.
Gillian Jones
Managing director, Emerge Development Consultancy
Volume 3, Issue 6