RULE 19 - Be sensitive to friction
Be sensitive to friction“My job is secure. No one else wants it.”
Bumper sticker
When you are running a team you are dealing with people. And sometimes they take it into their heads to rub each other up the wrong way. Why? W ho knows. They just do. They encroach on each other’s space, pinch each other’s biscuits, take each other’s parking spaces. Who starts it? Who knows. Can you let it go on? The hell you can. It has to be nipped in the bud. You have to be sensitive to friction almost before it begins – and do something about it. There is no point letting it go on for a day longer than it needs to. But to do this you really do need to be on the ball. You have to know your team well indeed to spot those first early warning signs.
If you don’t nip it in the bud it will grow into a monster. From tiny nit-picking you’ll end up with full-scale war, with the rest of team taking sides.
What to look out for? Silences when there shouldn’t be. Odd complaints, ‘God, I wish Clare would stop nattering to me so much’. Grumblings and bitchy gossip. Fierce competitiveness where there doesn’t need to be any. Sudden appearance of demarcation lines, such as pot plants to screen desks. Books or computers on desks being used to screen or shield people. People being left out of social invites. People being left out of office humor.
I’m sure you knows as much about this as I do and keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground. The secret is stopping it before it gets too bad. Here you have to be diplomat, parent, politician, referee. You mustn’t be seen to be taking sides. You must be seen to be taking swift and resolute action, making it clear that feuding won’t be tolerated. Call them in. Reason with them. Separate them. Swap their shifts. Keep them apart. Make them work together as a partnership. There are a whole raft of things you can do, and I’m sure you’ll pick the right one at the right time for the right situation.
“You mustn’t be seen to be taking sides. You must be seen to be taking swift and resolute action.”
posted by Right Ranger @ 6:20 PM
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