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Despite
improvements in economic indicators during
the last quarter, my friends in corporate
America tell me that times are tough. Here
are the facts: critical expenditures
continue to be cut, new business is more
difficult to land, margins are thinner, and
longer hours are the norm. Everyone seems to
be under more stress than usual. One thing
that also is more prevalent is a heightened
pressure between managers and subordinates.
While these
professional relationships have become
strained, in part due to three years in a
down economy, some relationships have soured
because managers have decided to use these
tough economic times as an excuse to demand
more of their employees. What are these
managers demanding of their employees? A
lot, including more production for the same
or lesser compensation; the threat of
additional job reductions in order to cut
expenses; and a "take it or leave
it" attitude concerning the impact of
reorganizations and restructures.
According
to the Economics Statistics Briefing Room
of the White House, close to nine
million people were unemployed at the end of
September 2003. The prospect of joining
those who are looking for work is not an
attractive option for most employees, and
managers know this.
Whose
fault is it? A Three Case Study
Here are a
few examples of situations that make me
wonder whether it’s the staff member,
management, or the presence of diversity
that has created less than optimal working
relationships:
A friend
recently shared with me that she
accidentally learned that a peer was earning
over $25,000 per year more for doing the
same job. Same responsibilities, comparable
performance, and similar experiences with
the company - almost everything about the
two individuals is identical. The discovery
of this huge salary discrepancy has resulted
in lost faith in the manager. Her enthusiasm
for the job is lower and her faith in the
company has deteriorated. One other
disturbing note: her well-compensated peer
is male and unlike her, he is not a person
of color.
Another
friend told me of his difficulty with
receiving a performance review. It seems
that everyone else in his department had
received a review, and a corresponding
salary increase, but the manager "just
hasn’t had time" to complete his.
This person had previously been unable to
get the manager or the personnel department
of the company to provide job
responsibilities or performance
expectations, items critical to doing any
job correctly. My friend has told me that
the relationship with the manager has now
become much more adversarial. The same
disturbing difference exists here, that is:
my friend is a person of color and the rest
of the department is not.
A third
associate manages a unit that sells product
primarily to minority markets. Her bosses
have been quick to slash budgets, reassign
the best workers away from the unit, and cut
bonuses so people in other units could get
more bonus dollars. Her unit has exceeded
its goals on a consistent basis and performs
at or above the level of other successful
units. However, my associate believes she
has been treated "less than"
compared to those in other areas of the
organization. Why? Is it because the
departments that received the additional
bonus money, resources, and people have few,
if any, people of color on staff? My
associate and her staff members are people
of color. Her management claims to be
committed to her unit, but my friend wonders
what they mean by commitment?
Maybe it’s
the economy. Maybe it’s a coincidence that
those impacted were minorities or females.
Maybe the insidiousness of racism and sexism
continues to operate through certain
individuals or companies. Maybe what
happened to these individuals is
coincidental. Or maybe part of the issue
actually resides with the employee or staff
member! Are there steps that these
individuals can take to improve these
situations and the corresponding work
relationships?
Is
It Me or Is It Them?
It’s
difficult to tell if it’s your
performance, personal biases, or
institutional practices that have created
problems in your relationships with those in
management. Try these steps first before you
attribute difficulties to your manager, or
to differences that exist in regard to age,
sex, race, personality, or other factors not
specifically related to your work:
| 1
- Get an accurate assessment of
your performance. |
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Spend
time reviewing your annual and
interim performance reviews. Look at
how you have performed versus
expectations and carefully read any
feedback provided by your manager.
Make sure that you understand your
company’s policies related to pay,
performance, and the documentation
of these items. Collect all
information related to the quality
of your work. Letters, memos, phone
calls and notes provide crucial
evidence concerning your
performance. Don’t expect anyone
else to keep this kind of
information for you. You are
the person responsible for gathering
and archiving this information. |
| 2
- Engage is straight talk with
your managers. |
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Have
frank, honest, and open discussions
with your manager. Be careful to do
your homework prior to any meeting
that might involve a discussion of
your performance or other sensitive
issues. Set a specific time for the
meeting and give your manager an
idea of the subject matter, but try
not to go into too much detail until
you meet. Prepare an agenda, stay
with the facts, and avoid items that
are outside of the realm of
expectations or your
responsibilities. |
| 3
- Document everything in writing. |
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One
thing I have found to be true in
America is that written
documentation is powerful. You
should take the time to reduce
important conversations and events
to writing so you do not have to
rely on memory. You also need to be
careful of where you prepare this
documentation. The email and
word-processing systems used at work
are probably owned by your employer
and as the system owner, your
employer may have the right to
access or modify (as in delete)
information that you have recorded.
If you have documented an occurrence
of a sensitive nature on company
owned equipment, remember that
others within your organization may
be able to access this data without
your knowledge.. |
| 4
- Examine your encounters. |
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Take
the time to reflect on the
interactions held with your manager.
You might want to ask questions such
as: Has your contact been frequent?
What is the nature of the contact or
meetings? What are the tones of your
conversations? Do you know how you
are thought of in the organization?
How frequently has this manager
stepped up on your behalf? Do you
merely exchange pleasantries and
shallow information without getting
to the true issues? Are the meetings
with your manager significantly
different from those held with your
peers? If so, how are they different
and why? You might find that there
are specific things you can do to
improve the quality and frequency of
the time spent with your manager. |
| 5
- Be honest in regard to your
findings. |
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If
you have specific performance issues
– deal with them. Work hard at
improving in areas where you may
have deficiencies. Get your manager’s
buy-in so that there are fewer
questions later about where you need
to improve your performance. If you
have relationships that are
difficult, look for ways to improve
them. Seek more frequent
communication with these
individuals, and with other key work
partners that may influence your
success going forward.
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| 6
- Develop a relationship plan. |
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Put
a specific relationship management
plan together for the managers that
you work with. This plan would look
at ways to make sure that you are
meeting each other’s work needs,
communicating as effectively as
possible, and developing timelines
and deadlines for getting particular
goals accomplished. The plan need
not be complicated. It can be as
simple as a couple of paragraphs
containing some mutually agreed upon
goals to work towards. Be careful
not to set goals that are beyond
what can reasonably be accomplished.
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Summary
Using these
steps will assist you in identifying issues
related to job performance and compensation,
but more importantly, these six points
provide the opportunity for you to develop
better relationships with your managers.
With
stronger relationships, you have the
opportunity to overcome differences that
might exist due to gender, race, culture, or
other diverse traits. You also have the
ability to eliminate problems that might
come up relative to pay, performance, and
distribution of corporate resources. How? By
creating an environment where needs are
understood and all parties are working
towards meeting your needs. Work becomes
much more enjoyable when you believe that
people, especially your managers, are truly
interested in you.
The End
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