Hierarchy Plays A Role in Disrespect
The manager and subordinate I’d been working with as a mediator were both angry with each other. The subordinate felt disrespected by the manager and vice versa. But, while the manager shrugged it off as the employee being too sensitive (and disrespectful), the employee was stuck in a cycle of feeling disrespected and powerless, growing more and more enraged each time the manager failed...
The Introverted Manager’s Dilemma
Last year I was coaching a mid-level manager named “Ted” who admitted he was having trouble “making small talk” with his team. Some of them even said he was “unapproachable” in an anonymous employee survey. So, when I asked him about it Ted came clean, “I come in Monday mornings and head directly for my office. I’m not comfortable asking people how their weekends went, or talking about the big...
Respect and Trust Go Hand In Hand
When I think back to all of the people who made a positive difference in my life, the one thing they all had in common was trust: trust in me. One of my very first jobs after I graduated from college was as a temp for a boutique market research firm in Boston called Wallace & Washburn. The company is still going strong, and headed up by a terrific guy named Kim Wallace. He may not know it,...