When Your Colleague is a Saboteur Report

National Institute of Development Administration

“When Your Colleague Is a Saboteur”

Submitted toAssoc. Prof. Dr. Maneewan Chat-uthai

Presented byNodtaporn C. 5320212001Noppadol 5320212003

Jutimaporn J. 5320212005

When Your Colleague Is a Saboteur

This report is submitted in a requirement ofBA.610 Human Resources Management and Organization Behavior

Content

Brief Summary

Part I: Comments

Maggie Craddock R. Dixon Thayer Deborah Kolb

Part II: Case Analysis

Bibliography

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Brief summary

Mark Landstad, a newly hired manager who is relatively new to CliffBank's investment banking division, has a teammate, Nicole Collins, who appears to be a reliable partner whom he feels most comfortable to ask for help. However, when Mark needs her help in finding important information and figures of his predecessor’s research for his part of a presentation they are doing together, she ignores and acts as if she does not know anything about those information. Mark prepares and does presentation slides all week alone in order to come up with the current acquisition strategy of Millhouse. He could not contact Nicole as well because she was at China and could not be reached until Monday morning which is the presentation day. Mark thinks he would ask Ian, a friend who is the head of corporate strategy at Millhouse, for help but he finally stops that idea.

On the presentation day, Mark talks to Nicole again about the Millhouse file but Nicole replies as if she does not know where the file is. Mark then points out that he sent the slides to her previous night and asks if she could check before presenting. During the meeting, Nicole produces the data to the attendees with her analysis. She comes up with the Millhouse information which is supposed to be in the file Mark is looking for. All questions arise in his mind: why did she have it and why doesn’t she share it with him?

Later, the boss assigned Mark to get more insight on what is going on politically at Millhouse. Mark feels uncomfortable calling Ian, still he decides to call Ian and asks for setting up a lunch with him in order to talk about the issue. However, it turns out that Nicole has already approached Ian by e-mail. Now, Mark is curious that Nicole is withholding some information from him and goes behind his back. Mark decides to discuss directly to Nicole of what happened in the meeting and about the conversation he had with Ian. Mark directs: “so it’s about grabbing most of the credit, is it?” Nicole turns out laughing and answers, “Most of the credit? I’m trying to grab all of the credit!” Nicole tells Mark that there is no way he can meet Ian without her because she has been working for Millhouse for a long time.

Mark does not know what to do next. He tries to confront the problem himself but it does not work. Mark then decided to talk directly to Paul. Mark states that he needs some perspective on working with Nicole and asks for permission if he could shut the door. Paul answered that they have an open-door policy there but Mark can shut the door if he would be more comfortable. Mark goes on describing about Nicole’s presentation but Paul interrupts by saying, “Would you like me to speak with her?” Mark later says that it will not be necessary to do that but he only wants Paul to know. However, Paul does not care much about the matter because he only looks at the result.

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Comments

Maggie CraddockMaggie Craddock is the president of Workplace Relationships,

an executive coaching firm in New York. She is also on the faculty of Wharton’s Advance Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Maggie points that people acquire power in different ways from their experiences with authority in their family. In her company, she identifies all workers in four personality types

which are the anxious pleaser, the indirect commander, the direct commander, and the giver. Maggie describes Mark as an anxious pleaser because he wastes time trying to locate a missing file instead of creating his own slides. Then, in the meeting, he never tries to join the discussion. He doesn’t even stand up to Ian, he lets him invite Nicole. In the other hand, Nicole operates an indirect commander; she bothers Mark by not getting back to him before the meeting. Maggie’s advice is that Mark can improve his performance on the job if he works to make change on the inside.

R. Dixon ThayerR. Dixon Thayer is the founder and CEO of ab3 Resources, a

strategic consulting and investment firm, and an executive adviser to Bryant Park Capital. He is also a former CEO of I-trax, a workplace-based health care company. Mr. Thayer was sabotaged before; he explained that Mark should not have the open-ended way to approach his boss. Thayer lists four “rules for boss engagement”. The basic idea of the engagement is that his employees should take along the person they want to complain and also bring possible solutions. He also points

out that if any employees want personal advice from him should not expect action on his part. Lastly, he declares that employees who bring him news that does not require action should not show up with bad news after 4 o’clock on a Friday unless those issues are business critical.

Deborah Kolb Deborah Kolb is the Deloitte Ellen Gabriel Professor for Women & Leadership at the Simmons School of Management in Boston. She is the lead author of Everyday Negotiation. In Deborah’s point of view, she thinks that Mark made a mistake because of working at the investment bank without learning about the division's culture and norms. Mark should deal with Nicole and create a good relationship with her and Ian on the Millhouse account instead of complaining to Paul who is a results-

oriented manager. Then, Deborah advises that Mark should ask Nicole to meet himin order to discuss the future roles on the projects if they have to work together again.

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Case Analysis

A successful organization can only progress if all employees work together as a team and believe in mutual benefit. When any employees have a motive to take advantages from their colleagues, the whole organization will suffer.

The company has a group working environment, not team working environment. In a team, the team leader and team members have a shared responsibility of the outcomes and consequences. The team members will appreciate that their own success is a result of the collective performance of other team members. This kind of working environment could generate much greater motivation in order to help and support the other team members. On the contrary, each group member will be responsible for his/her own results and performance. Compliments and rewards will be given individually. In this case, Mark and Nicole are not classified as a team because they tend to have separate common commitment. Nicole is working for the promotion, recognition and rewards individually. They form a perfect example of Dysfunctional team.

In order to avoid the problem, company should boost up the value of trust in the organization. Trust allows people to make plans to achieve the long-term goals. Trust is defined as being able to predict what other people will do and what situations will occur. If we can surround ourselves with people we trust, then we can create a safe present and an even better future. (changingminds.org) Thus, trust is a key point of teamwork. It can be developed through communication, support, respect, transparency, dependability, predictability and creditability. Fear of conflict happens when conversation and feedback cannot be questioned or difficult questions cannot be asked. In turn, it happens because of the lack of trust.

Because of lack of trust and fear of conflict, most decisions could not be discussed enough. Employee feels that the authorities or other team members would not listen to his suggestions or recommendations anyway. The team is having fewer competencies and lost. The company should also boosts up team spirit. It is a saying “exponential gains in

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organization effectiveness are possible at the intersection of team and spirit. Despite the potency of this synergy of team and spirit, the notion is still incompletely understood by modern enterprises. To realize the possibility of spirited, high performing teams requires a shift in awareness, a shift in values, and with it a shift in the way teams work.” (Barry Heermann, Building Team Spirit, 1997) Company also should build up accountability of the team members and boost up the debates, brainstorming and talk of the accomplishments as a team.

Communication is also an important part to drive the team to success. In this case, Mark and Nicole have a lack of interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication could help us understand why and how people behave and communicate differently. When Nicole showed the slides, Mark was shocked and felt that she had hidden that information from him.

Nicole also demonstrates the deviant workplace behavior which is a behavior that violates organizational

norms by withholding effort, stealing and acting rudely to co-workers. Moreover, ethical behavior is not shown by Nicole. Nicole demonstrates unethical behavior when she said ‘I am trying to grab all the credit’. On the contrary, Mark shows that he avoided using his personal relationship in order to take advantages for work purposes.

Machiavellianism is a person’s tendency to manipulate or deceive others for personal benefit and may indicate personality dysfunction such as extraversion, narcissism or paranoia. People with high MACH like Nicole tend to be most strongly with paranoid, anger and frustration. Nicole’s behavior also displays a sign of Job Stress. Nicole and Mark work in a result-oriented working environment. Nicole tries to bring best result ignoring the relationship with any colleagues. She is an ambitious person and finds that Marks’ willingness and motivation can become a threat to her career. On the other hand, Mark somehow shows Emotional Intelligence. He can control his emotion in the meeting room not to directly argue with Nicole. However, he loses his control the time he rushes to Nicole’s office. The situation “He clenched his fist….glass door,” shows Mark’s anger.

Paul also lags of his role as a leader. The leader should also be a good listener, a good communicator and a good speaker. “Successful leader, we have found, are great askers and they do pay attention.”(Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus) Moreover, the leader should support and assist team members. He/she should think in term of ‘we’ not ‘I’. An effective leader should also provide encouragement and motivation in term of recognition and reward. It is the way to show genuine concern and respect. In this case, Paul is not able to act as an effective leader because he could not introduce an effective team to both Nicole and Mark.

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Mark feels that what he puts into the job is not comparable to what he gets. Under Adams’ Equity Theory, Mark will finally be demotivated by reducing effort or become disruptive.

He thinks and perceives that the treatment is unfair because people normally will compare themselves with other employees who do not put the inputs as much as them.

They will also like to compare if the company provide them a correct balance. It is not possible for the manager to treat every employee equally but he needs to recognize the rewards that can motivate each individual.

Paul needs to come up with some motivation tools in order to help Nicole and Mark to construct a good teamwork. Working in a situation like this will decrease the team competency and result. By ignoring, he is supporting Nicole to continue doing this action towards Mark and other co-workers. The company might also lose good employees like Mark if Paul keeps doing nothing.

Mark probably could not change a ‘difficult co-worker’ like Nicole but he could deal with her by avoiding being her victim. Here are some advices from ‘Ten Tips for Dealing with Difficult Co-Workers’

1. Identify problem people: Learn to know when a co-worker is “toxic”2. Beware bad bosses: you have to learn how to get along with boss no matter you like them or not3. Assess your situation: when you are treated unfair, you have to understand what situation you are facing and try to encourage yourself by realizing that you are not alone.4. Take concrete action: you have to let your colleagues know you are not on his or her game and

ready to increase it to a higher authority5. Don’t let the problem fester: you should confront the problem while you can handle the emotional control.6. Safeguard your reputation: Do not constantly complaining because your managers might wonder why you cannot solve your own problems.7. Don’t sink to their level: Do not sending anonymous notes or gossiping or bad-mouthing to the boss.8. Keep it Private: you should handle your temper in front of your boss and colleagues9. Make the first move: If you are dealing with difficult person who is believed to restore harmony, you should start saying “I’m sorry for...” or “I could be wrong” first.10. Agree to disagree: Even though you dislike a co-worker or boss, you still can learn from their ideas. You should comment in a favorable way if you find something interesting and finally you may both learn how to get along.

The survey was developed and found out that the undesirable co-workers could be tolerated as long as they are good at doing their jobs. Therefore, Mark should try to cope up with Nicole as they will have to work together for some period of time. There is a strategy to cope with unpleasant colleagues like a saboteur. The strategy said that being sure the supervisor or project manager knows each team member’s roles and responsibilities and also insists on a regular progress report. Then the saboteurs cannot take advantage.

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Mark suffers mostly from dealing with people at work like Nicole. A book called “Working with You is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself from Emotional Traps At work” comes up with tools to handling difficult people. The author comes up with a metaphor “being hooked”. The metaphor represents the situation when another person hooks you with a big fishing hook and drags you around. When you are hooked by someone, you have lost your guard and you finally lost control of yourself, like Mark. “Being Hooked” can be solved by “The ledge” metaphor. The ledge is like when you are in the edge of a high building or the ledge of a cliff and ready to jump down committing suicide. When you are ‘on the ledge’, you will feel distressed. However, when you are ‘off the ledge’, you will return to normal.

The book cited 5 zones of interpersonal difficulties in the business world

However, you can get unhooked by changing your reaction which will then change your life. There are 4 essential steps to unhooking:

1. Unhook Physically: Practice by breathing deeply, releasing anger by return and engage.

2. Unhook Mentally: Look at a difficult situation from a good perspective and find practical options.

3. Unhook Verbally: Focus on your goal rather than being stuck in the details-getting agreement on facts and avoid the need to be right.

4. Unhook with a business tool: Provide objective ways to deal with reality.

‘If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.’

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Bibliograpghy

Changing Minds.org. “What is Trust?” http://changingminds.org/explanations/trust/what_is_trust.htm (29 April 2011)

TEAM SPIRIT Creator, Barry Heermann, Building Team Spirit, McGraw-Hill [1997]

The People Development Practice (UK) Ltd. “Team vs Group.” Leadership Development Coaching. http://www.leadership-development-coaching.com/team-vs-group.html (29 April 2011)

Jackson, Eric. “Top Ten Ways to Turnaround a Dysfunctional Team.” Breakout Performance. http://breakoutperformance.blogspot.com/2006/10/top-ten-ways-to-turnaround.html (29 April 2011)

Berkman, Eric. “Six ways to handle a dysfunctional team.” Lotus Notes Domino Coding and Development. http://searchdomino.techtarget.com/tip/Six-ways-to-handle-a-dysfunctional-team (30 April 2011)

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., “Interpersonal Communication”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpersonal_communication (30 April 2011)

Low, Mickey. “Workplace Deviance”http://www.slideshare.net/lbsun07/workplace-deviance (30 April 2011)

Ten Tips for Dealing with Difficult Co-Workershttp://www.aftermarket.org/Magazine/InsiderArchives/Toolbox/DifficultCoWorkers.aspx

Dr. Shue. “Machiavellianism: What kind of strategy is that?” Positive Politicshttp://positivepolitics.wordpress.com/2007/06/12/machiavellianism-what-kind-of-strategy-is-that/ (30 April 2011)

McHoskey, John W. “Machiavellianism and personality dysfunction”http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9F-43S05SD-D&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F01%2F2001&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1736482461&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=ba32f56e648650835a6741a291c2cf8f&searchtype=a (30 April 2011)

“Changing reaction, Changing your life”http://cdn.channel.aol.com/coaches/excerpt-working-you-killing-me.pdf (2 May 2011)

“Four biggest reason for generational conflict in team” http://blogs.hbr.org/erickson/2009/02/the_four_biggest_reasons_for_i.html (3 May 2011)

“Ten Tips for Dealing with Difficult Co-Workers.” Aftermarket Insider 55 (Autumn, 2008)

OfficeTeam. “Coping with Unpleasant Colleagues”www.iaap-hq.org/OfficeTeam_CareerCenter/Co-worker_Woes.htm. (4 May 2011)

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“Working with You is Killing me”http://markrfreier.com/2010/07/24/working-with-you-is-killing-me-unhooking/v

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When Your Colleague is a Saboteur Report