Ask the Geezers

"Tattletale"- to be or not to be

Question: I hear private complaints against a manager from more than one team members in his/her team. They are not speaking up because they are used to being "nice". They are not comfortable "attacking" people, especially if it is their manager. As a bystander, I want to keep silent and things will probably work out on their own. But I am also concerned if there is really a problem and I let it go. What should I do?

Sin-Yaw: A manager's job is not to please the staff, but to deliver results. Although a motivated staff is usually the most productive one, it is not always the case. It is possible that the said manager is pushing through a tough change and is experiencing a phase of low morale.

You should encourage the staff to speak up. At the same time, approach the manager and kindly bring up the matter without betraying those who trusted you. Ask for his or her plan. If the situation warrants it, talk to the manager's boss, HR, or myself -- not necessarily in that order.

That is, of course, assuming the said manager is not myself.

Amiram: This is indeed a very delicate issue. First I would find out the nature of the complaints. Obviously if criminal activity is involved, then the employee is obligated to report. I suspect that this isn't the case. Another typical complaint would be favoritism - the manager gives better treatment to some of the staff while ignoring or treating other staff in a different manner. There could be professional problems as well. Usually, there's an "objective" part of the organization, where people can go and complain while not risking their position. HR is a good choice. Sometimes, it can also be done anonymously. Being a silent bystander is not something I'd recommend to anyone.

Mike: Theoretically, your possible approaches can range from doing nothing at all to getting yourself all the way involved. To make a choice, there are interesting questions to be asked about obligation and responsibilities.

As a manager you have a responsibility to the company and also the company's employees in general (in addition to your own direct reports). You also have obligations to your peer managers. Most importantly you have obligation to yourself. You have to decide whether you are happy with yourself for the actions you will take.

I usually measure myself against this kind of question by thinking about how I would feel if I do a particular thing but it doesn't work out. For example, if I do absolutely nothing, a star performer in this person's group might decide to leave as a result of not being happy with his manager. That is not good for the company. On the other hand if I choose to get myself involved between the manager and his/her team members, the peer manager would look at me as the one causing the problem. That won't help either. Or if I try to convince the people from whom I hear complaints that the problem does not exist, then I will lose credibility. I don't want that because credibility is essential for a manager to be effective.

The question is to find a middle ground with balanced benefits for all the involved parties. You need to avoid the consequent effects of either over-reacting or under-communicating. In most cases, things won't work out by themselves.

One possible solution is to talk to some senior managers or HR partners who are in a neutral position and do not have direct responsibilities for the involved manager. Another thing worth doing, depending on your relationship with the “accused” manager, is to tell him that people are talking about his performance in this given area without disclosing the source. You can tell him that you are available for help if needed, and make him/her understand that if someone comes to you for help on the issue you'd take it as your responsibilities to escalate it to higher management. In summary, the communication can happen in the following steps: I know this is happening -> I am willing to help you if you need me. -> If someone comes to me for help, I WILL escalate. It could remind the manager that this is not just a simple matter between him and his employees.

Editors' Summary:
- A variety of things that the manager has done could have caused the complaints: “perceived” favoritism, unpopular decisions, or just bad management practice. Try to understand the nature of the underlying issue.
- Viable solutions include: a. Try to approach the manager without disclosing the source of your information. b. Talk to someone in a neutral position, be it senior manager or HR. c. Escalate to the manager's manager if the first two options don't work.
- Keeping this to yourself is not the right thing to do.

Posted at 08:43AM Jan 18, 2007 by Wen Michelle Lei in General  |  Comments[0]