Dealing with difficult colleagues calls for patience, tact

Published on May 25, 2011

It is often said that you will not find as many varied ‘characters' anywhere else as in the workplace! And with a mottled assortment under one roof, personalities are bound to clash all the more at work. Some can be mildly irritating or unpleasant while some others may be frustrating or offensive or even get under your skin and leave you fuming with anger.

Well, it is quite hard to get along with difficult colleagues in the best of times. But constantly harping on the annoyances will not make any difference. Yet, constantly pushing the wrong buttons can lead to stress, fury and even burnout.

Then again, you cannot afford to quit your job every time either, as ‘difficult' colleagues will follow you everywhere – just a different type the next time! So, when you cannot choose or change your colleagues, why not learn to deal with them….yes, even the most difficult ones.

Getting a finger on the pulse of the difficult people will help you to deal with them accordingly. It is the key to achieving workplace happiness, success and also maintaining your sanity!

Here's a take on the different kinds of colleagues and tips to get a handle on them that too without getting your dander up:

The chatterbox:This colleague is actually the best of the difficult lot. He is friendly and means well, but problem is that he is over-friendly and will talk, talk and talk all the time. If the incessant chatter keeps you from concentrating on your work, try to gently divert him saying that you would love to catch up on the talk at a free time like breaks and meals.

Die-hard gossip:He knows everything about everyone and then some more! And he loves to share it too. If it is work stuff, tuning in will keep you updated on the latest news, but you should know where to draw the line and absolutely refuse to listen to personal or inappropriate rumours. Whatever you do, never participate in the gossip yourself.

The whiner:This kind of person only knows one thing – to complain. He is never happy with anything and can find fault even in the best of things. The cynical nitpicking is completely unconstructive and advising the moaner will not do any good. You can either choose to listen in a neutral manner (if you are in the mood) or subtly steer clear of his ranting sessions.

The arguer:This colleague loves to argue all the time, even over the most rational issues and always has a problem with what others say. You should keep your cool while he lets off steam. Let him finish his arguments without interrupting and then offer your own two pence for what its worth. Like, “Your way of doing that procedure sounds terrific, but have you considered…?” If he still vehemently sticks to his views, instead of bickering just agree to disagree!

The stubborn streak:He is too set in his ways and not open to new ideas or even the smallest change. You can help him by introducing change gradually so that he can learn to accept it. If he is still not amenable, it is better to not do anything as sticking to his ways and failing will speak for itself!

The bully:This is the most common kind who uses high-handed tactics and aggressiveness to intimidate others and get his way. He is ready to explode at the slightest hint of confrontation. You have to be assertive and stand your ground in the face of his bullying. Tactics like remaining cool and detached or calmly walking away without any reaction is bound to deflate his belligerence.

The ego maniac:This is the self-centred and arrogant colleague who thinks everything revolves around him. He will constantly try to correct your wrongs and show you the ‘right way of doing things'. Have the courage to stand up for yourself by not letting him put you down or undermine your work.

The credit-stealer:This colleague craves the limelight. He resorts to stealing credit, belittling your contributions and presenting your opinions as his own – all in a bid to gain attention and importance. Confront him that you are aware of what he is doing and do not make the mistake of running your ideas by him again. Meanwhile, also maintain a record of your achievements and keep your manager in the loop as well.

The backstabber:This is the worst kind who talks ill about you behind your back to make you look incompetent or even bad. Driven by insecurity, he may even sabotage your work to keep you from succeeding. This is not the time to ignore the problem as it is very difficult to undo the effective damage. Confront him in private and state that you will not stand for such behaviour. He may deny it outright but will still be scared that you will point him out to others as well.

Apart from this, you will surely find many other difficult colleagues – the trick is to figure out what makes them tick and then respond tactfully without getting irritated, angry, intimidated or even defensive.

Generally, remaining calm, keeping an open mind and reacting maturely can go a long way in diffusing potential annoyances. For instance, you can request a group of chatting people, “Can you please go and talk down the hall?' rather than silently fuming over the disturbance.

Try to get to know your colleagues, build a rapport and treat them with respect instead of just getting worked up at the annoyance. Understand that most people are not deliberately being difficult. Instead of thinking that someone is out to get you, try to understand his motivations/problems that make him act this way and help resolve the same. As a career advisor points out “It might help to remember that difficult people often act as they do out of fear!”

Often, having a private conversation to reason with the difficult person and explaining your intentions can help clear the air.

Openly communicating may even make you realise that you are being difficult to others as well! But, sometimes ignoring the troublemaker and avoiding him as much as possible is the only thing that will work.

As a last resort, report to your manager that the colleague is making it very difficult for you to do your job. But only as the last resort!

Payal Chanania

Create a clear ‘line of sight' between team, organisational objectives

Published on May 4, 2011

Many a time, teams do all the right things – they work diligently to get things done, are eager to create results and even truly committed to achieving success. Yet, they never really emerge successful…..

So, what is the problem? Well, the team members are working from their own perspective, doing what they think is right.

Alas, their activities are unwittingly misguided as this is not what the organisation needs. In fact, their honest efforts can even have a negative impact on the organisation.

As Kevin Eikenberry, renowned author of Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time observes, “A non-aligned team could enjoy each other and their work. They could accomplish much, and all of that could be completely counter to what the organisation needs!”

And the next question follows that why did this problem arise? The culprit here is that the team was never aligned with the overall organisational goals!

Now how can this be corrected? The responsibility lies with the team leader to set a context for the team's success by primarily aligning team goals with the big picture.

For this, the leader needs to first gain a clear understanding of the organisation's mission, strategic goals, objectives and specific targets that are meant to be achieved. Then proceed to lining up your team processes, activities and objectives in such a way that every team task rolls up to a larger organisational goal.

This entails highly effective communication where the leader talks about the very meaning, purpose and goals of the organisation. Help the team members gain clarity about the company strategy and how it can translate into an action plan for the team. Don't rely just on memos or emails, but use face-to-face communication as far as possible to help members relate their work performance with the organisational mission. And once they comprehend how what they do contributes to the success of the organisation and enables it to achieve its goals, it will create a clear ‘line of sight' between the team and organisational objectives. Understanding why their work product matters in turn begets accountability among the members of the team.

Operating in this milieu will improve both morale and performance manifold, thus unleashing the true potential of the team.

Again, goal alignment is a continuous process and existing teams should periodically review the current team initiatives, activities and objectives to ascertain that they do not conflict with the grand scheme of organisational goals.

If you sense even the slightest bit of misalignment, get the team back on track by focussing on high-value tasks and eliminating low-value ones as far as possible. Regular evaluations will also help the team to identify any gaps or redundancies and develop performance plans accordingly.

According to priority: Another point to consider – in today's dynamic business environment, business priorities change frequently. Therefore, appraising team goals also becomes essential whenever there is any shift in the organisational mission or direction so that the team can refocus on the new mission requirements.

The course correction will enable the team to avoid wasting company resources by consciously steering clear of activities that do not contribute to the success of the organisation.

Thus, embracing the mission and core objectives of the organisation will ensure that neither do the teams operate in a vacuum and nor are their efforts wasted on the wrong activities or goals. Understanding how their performance drives success also provides meaning and direction to the team's work, thus driving greater commitment, better results as well as improving team dynamics. As people start feeling that what they do really matters and every task of theirs is a step towards achieving the company's goals, everyone starts moving in the same direction thus maximising individual, team and ultimately organisational effectiveness as a whole!

Summing up in the words of a top writer, “Your job as a team leader is to be sure you are finding ways for your team to be marching in the parade, not driving the clown car!”

Payal Chanania 

Co-creating with customers is the way forward for innovation

Published on May 11, 2011

All companies small and large swear by ‘The customer knows best' philosophy.

But now they are actually willing to put their money where their mouth is by inviting the customer force to join them in the innovation game.

Yes, organisations have actually started tapping their largest resource – the customer base - to harness their enormous wisdom, insight, creativity and innovation.

This ‘crowdsourcing' is done by outsourcing the work traditionally performed by employees, etc. to a generally undefined large group of people (read: customers) through an open call.

The task can be anything from improving existing products to designing new products/services, creating content to solving problems or even finding a new name/logo/slogan for a product! The responders can be anyone from volunteers and amateurs to even experts in the field.

And why not – after all the customers are the ones who know your product best and can tell you the way things actually are in the real world.

In fact, this forms the best market research and that too at a nominal or even no cost.

People power: Big corporations have been successfully capitalising on the power of their customers. For example, toy maker Lego draws on its most fanatical customers to redesign its famous sets.

Dell has turned potential liabilities into increased profit margins by listening to the customer complaints! Even smaller companies have started experimenting with crowdsourcing to exploit the immense power of the consumers.

Such customer-led innovation offers multi-faceted advantages by cutting cost overheads as well as reducing the risk of new product failure.

Not only this, but involving consumers brings customer engagement to a new threshold as people feel that their voice is heard and that their opinion does matter.

This improves customer relations, generates customer loyalty and also increases word-of-mouth publicity from satisfied users. What's more, customers are actually expecting this now or they will just go elsewhere. As Jeff Howe, the person credited with coining the term ‘Crowdsourcing' says, ‘Increasingly, customers expect to have a say in the products they consume - especially Gen Yers.

Crowd is good: ‘Open innovation' is all around us what with crowdsourcing emerging as the faster, smarter and more creative way to improve business. But this does not mean that anybody can simply hop onto the bandwagon and instantly gain limitless ideas, priceless inputs or even a customer-friendly reputation.

In fact, companies have to proceed very delicately or their efforts can easily backfire with not only copious average and unremarkable suggestions that cannot really be used, but also lower customer goodwill due to the lack of positive follow up from the organisation!

Instead, organise a targeted crowdsourcing initiative in a structured environment where customers can successfully collaborate with your organisation.

Begin by first screening the customer suitability instead of simply using the whole mass available to you.

Select appropriate and useful people who are most likely to generate smart, realistic ideas or can provide valid, productive input. For instance, the youth are both more open and amenable to such forays.

Seek: Clearly define the problem, describe what you seek and explain how the customers can help. You can actually solicit any feedback from how consumers can get a better experience to how the product can be better marketed.

But do provide requisite resources for the work like appropriate information about the company, business capabilities, opportunities, problems etc.

While some top organisations/tasks may lure people just by the free publicity, ego boost and satisfaction, most others have to integrate incentives and rewards to encourage customers to spend time and efforts on the company's work.

Offering free gifts, vouchers, discounts, services or privileges can be quite persuasive at that too at nominal costs.

Give: Provide a constructive platform where people can contribute and cooperate of their own volition. You can use the traditional suggestion boxes, surveys and reviews or exploit the internet with its new social networking technologies.

This opens up a ready audience with easy and quick tools like blogs, forums, online communities or social media where you can invite users to offer opinions/suggestions, reveal expectations or concerns, comment on components, propose ideas or even vote on ideas posted by others.

Now your task is to filter and analyse the hordes of trivial responses to discover the brilliant and outstanding gems.

Meanwhile, make it a point to respond to the customers while bravely taking the negativity and criticism on the chin. Finally, do follow up to let the customers know how their efforts will be used and ideas will be implemented.

To sum up, co-creating with customers is the way forward. As a successful user exclaims, “The time and monetary investment were minimal, quality of responses phenomenal and the ability to control the creative process rewarding and productive. It's almost like a free shot!”

Moreover, as seasoned ‘outside innovation' consultant, Patricia Seybold observes, “I believe it (crowdsourcing) is imperative because it's not possible for any business to remain at the top of the game, and as innovative as it should be over a long period of time, by relying only on its own smart people, know-how and internal research and development capacity”.

Payal Chanania