I am in a difficult situation. I have a manager who I do not trust. This person is constantly undermining the relationship I have with my staff. (The manager was in my role before moving to the current role.) The department is terrified of this manager but yet they cannot say anything. This manager holds grudges and will not let bygones be bygones nor take constructive criticism. Anyone who has crossed him has eventually ended up unemployed. This manager’s boss is offsite and does not communicate with anyone but the manager. The manager tells the boss what he feels she needs to know and that is all. The boss of the manager is someone who no one knows so they do not know if they can go to that person. Basically everyone is afraid of the manager and knows there is no way out. It is the manager’s way or nothing. Is there anything I can do to help the staff deal with this? Is there anything I can do to work with the manager even though I do not respect the way the manager does business or sees things? How can I get him to stop sabotaging my relationship with staff (there is validity and proof of the claims stated above) without upsetting the manager and slitting my own career throat? I feel as though I am a lone soldier trying to battle an entire city each day.

The Team Doc Says…

This is not a good situation. The first thing you need to do is determine how much risk you are willing to take to resolve this problem realizing that given the scenario you describe, you may become a casualty of your actions.

I see two issues here. One is your relationship with your manager. The other is your relationship with your team. I have assumed you are the team leader in this case.

1. Relationship with manager — One of the best things you can do is open a line of communication with your manager. This may be tough for you since you don’t respect him or the way he sees things. No matter how hard you try, those inner feelings will manifest themselves in some way. So be aware of this. Have you sat down with this person and discussed his expectations of your role and your team’s role? Often there is a disconnect in this area that can be clarified by having this type of discussion. Once this is accomplished, when there is a situation where the manager is changing (e.g. your interpretation of sabotaging your team) direction, you can point back to this discussion and identify where things have changed and what he would like you to do differently. Make sure you have this discussion as close to the situation as possible. Get clarity, identify new expectations and move forward in that direction.

2. Relationship with team — Do you have good communication within your team? Meeting regularly, even for a short period of time to discuss issues, clarify direction, identify roles and responsibilities can go a long way to helping your team get on solid ground. The more cohesive your team unit is, the stronger your position will be for making the workplace better.

And another note. Has anyone spoken to your HR folks about this issue? This is another risky move, but may be a course of action you could consider.

If things don’t improve, you may want to start looking around for another position. Not a good market for that, but may be a better option than being in a miserable situation where you currently work.

Related posts:

1. Team Member Role On Team Not Clear
2. How To Deal With Team Dynamics
3. What to do When Your Team Gangs Up On You

I would like to see my day shift team work together better. When it gets really busy instead of being supportive to each other they seem to fall apart as a team. The team is spread out on separate floors so when they can see each other they assume that their teammates are not doing anything. They don’t seem to trust or respect each other. The afternoon shift has the same hurdles of working in separate area but they seem to respect each other and are supportive.

The Team Doc Says…

I’m not sure what you mean by not supporting each other although you alluded to it when you indicated they don’t seem to trust or respect each other. You must be seeing this in their behaviors or you would not be making this assumption.

For teams that are separated by physical barriers — a wall, a floor, a street, a state, a country or even an ocean — it is always harder to build and maintain trust. No matter how big or small, any type of barrier can cause huge disconnects in a team.

That means, as the leader, you need to go out of your way to ensure there are plenty of opportunities for the team to interact and build trust. Here’s a way to begin.

1. Every morning (yes, every morning!) have a 15 minute face-to-face meeting with all team members to quickly review what’s on tap for the day and to identify any issues that need to be addressed. This can be a “stand up” meeting. It should be fast-paced and very interactive (meaning everyone should participate).

2. If your team has ready access to technology, set up the capability for them to interact in real time by having everyone sign up for a twitter account. Have each account set up as private and connect the entire team together by following each other. Then have them install the twhirl application at their workstation so they can monitor what’s going on and interact as needed. They could also keep themselves logged in to twitter and get updates on the web. Having your entire team team set up on twitter gives them the ability to interact and talk to one another just like they would if they were sitting right next to each other. Plus this gives them a real time archive of what’s going on in the team.

3. Set up a blog for them to keep each other updated on longer term projects and to stay connected to the other shifts. You could easily get the open source wordpress software loaded on your company intranet and grant everyone access for posting. Request that each team — or person on the team — post an update every day. A team blog will not only help them become closer, it will also help you document institutional knowledge which is a really good thing in this day and time.

4. Last, but not least, make sure each team member understands their role and how their part of the whole helps the team be successful. You could accomplish this by having some short team meetings to clarify team member roles and talk about how each of them is important to the team’s goals and ultimate outcome.

Let me know how this works for you by leaving a comment. If I’m way off base here on my assumptions about your team, let me know that too. Good luck!

How about you reader? Do you have other suggestions? Please add a comment with your thoughts.

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1. Building a Virtual Team
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3. Growing And Sustaining A Virtual Team Takes Extra Effort

One team member is very strong and prefers things to always go his way — if not the case he expresses feelings of victimization or bullying.

The Team Doc Says…

There is no place for bullying in any organization. Not only does this create a toxic environment for your team, it could put your business in jeopardy.

If you have a team to accomplish a goal, why on earth would you let one team member create this type of situation? This team member should be counseled and provided feedback on their behavior.

Perhaps this person just doesn’t realize how they are behaving and how it is impacting the team. I know, hard to believe but true in many cases.

An action plan along with regular coaching sessions should be set up for this team member to ensure that their behavior changes. If it does not, it’s time to seriously consider removing this person from your team.

Do you have other thoughts reader? Please leave a comment.

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2. Holding Team Member Accountable A Challenge
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What do you do if one person on your team absolutely refuses to be a part of the team and will not participate in anything?

The Team Doc Says…

Get rid of them.

Seriously.

If your team is dependent on each team member filling a specific role on the team and one person refuses to play, that person should not be a part of the team.

So what do you do with that person?

You really don’t want to reward non-team player behavior, but getting rid of a team member who has key knowledge about your business may put your team in jeopardy. So assign this person as adviser to the team — temporarily.

During this temporary time frame, spend time learning and documenting as much as you can about what this person knows.

Don’t let this be a long term solution. Move that person out of your team, and perhaps out of your business, as soon as you can.

What do you think, dear reader? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

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1. How To Deal With A Resistant Team Member
2. Integrating a New Team Member Into Your Virtual Team
3. What To Do About A Team Member Who Bullies Others

The biggest problem about teams is everyone wants to the big chief. How as a team member, do I deal with this and get the job done?

The Team Doc Says…

Actually, if a team is set up properly with the right team members in the right roles, each team member should have a chance to be the big chief.

That would mean that the strengths they brought to the team were being used to move the team toward success in its goal achievement. That’s a win – win for both the team and the organization.

But I suspect that’s not what you are referring to, right?

Depending on your team role your best bet is to first understand what it is that is expected of you. If you don’t know that, you need to find out by talking with your team leader. Then you’ll want to talk with the other team members and determine how you can help them be successful.

If you can make it happen, it would be a good idea to have a team meeting to clarify team member roles and identify how each team member supports the others. That would be a huge benefit for your team.

How about you reader? Do you have additional suggestions? Please leave a comment.

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1. Integrating Teams From Different Departments A Tough Job
2. Every Team Member Talks — No One Listens
3. What To Do When Your Team Falls Apart While You’re Gone