APRIL,Edition # 24, 2001

He yelled abuse.
She was a disapproving parent.
Another "he" wrote threatening letters with the magic word and another she became a drill sergeant on the parade ground.
All of them were executives or senior managers working directly with line staff and interacting regularly with support staff. The consequences are obvious, an intimidating workplace where the "king's messenger" was often slain, publicly and brutally, and then left to share the story of their crucifixion with other martyrs over lunch, during coffee breaks and at Friday drinks.
It does not take a HR genius to see the high cost of such executive actions - fearful staff do not work at their best, you can lose their creative edge and some become saboteurs in the workplace.
The solution to these problems is easier than you think when you now the underlying cause, which was common in all cases - fear.
It was fear about appearing incompetent, fear about job security, or fear of losing prestige and power. That is what needs to be dealt with first, followed by a conceptual model for what is happening then a behavioural action plan for modifying the offending behaviour.
So, we followed the HEART - T approach:

H - hearing the executive's story and viewpoint;
E - empathising with, and acknowledging, the under lying feelings
A - using the Actions, Beliefs, Consequences model as a framework for sharing mutual understandings;
R - reflecting on options, outcomes and consequences so as to select alternative responses;
T - "Tough Love" which meant rewarding the use of behavioural circuit breakers (BCBs) and other options but being clear about the consequences of repeated offences; and
T - timeframing everything with mutually agreeable goals.

For the most part, these strategies worked very well.
The increased sense of security they created resulted in an immediate reduction in the problem behaviours. In one case, recording the opportunities for blowing up versus the number of explosions also produced an immediate modification and sense of personal success.
However, in one case firmer action was called for which involved lawyers reviewing contracts. This, the last resort and used reluctantly, proved powerful. At the end of the day though, however nice you want to be, some people will flag their inner desire for a parting of the ways by repeatedly flaring up.
It would be injudicious, unwise and folly not to respond firmly and decisively by saying good-bye.
end

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