Think about how you would handle a situation like this and select the assertive answer. Sylvia is a director who oversees several project managers. One of her managers is habitually late in turning in vital time-sensitive reports. Not only are the reports late, but they are incomplete or inaccurate. Sylvia’s normal response is to give a heavy sigh and scold the project manager for being late. The report is due the tomorrow. If you were Sylvia, what would you do?
a. Find a way to push back the deadline to give him more time.
b. Tell him that he’s doing a terrible job and this can’t go on and “write him up”
c. Show him what corrections need to be made and have him stay until the report is finished.
d. After scolding him take over and finish the report yourself so it will be turned in on time.
Answer:
‘c’ is the assertive answer. In the past Sylvia had consistently stayed late to fix the report so it would be on time and her department would look good. Her project manager was accustomed to this and had become lazy because he knew Sylvia would make everything right. Sylvia’s coach guided her in selecting the action that would achieve the desired outcome. She set a clear expectation that the report would be completed in a correct and timely way by the manager. Once he understood the expectation and knew that Sylvia would make sure he did it (accountability), he changed his attitude toward the monthly activity, learned how to effectively complete it, and showed more respect for her in other situations.
The other choices:
‘a’ is passive, reinforces the manager’s lack of responsibility and solves nothing in the long term.
‘b’ is aggressive and both deflating for the manager and a demonstration of Sylvia’s disappointment in herself for not ensuring that the report be completed on time.
‘d’ is passive, allowing upward delegation and leaves the manager feeling unsatisfied with his job as well.
The key to a positive outcome in situations like this is to set clear standards and expectations at the beginning – then make sure the person does what is expected of him/her (accountability). Expect respect and accept only that!
Copyright 2010 Leadership Dynamics, Inc.
Ann Meacham is president of Leadership Dynamics and Promotes Business Growth Through Leadership. http://leadershipdynamics.us Ann’s focus is building leadership and team capacities, and facilitating the creation of their vision and business strategies. She accomplishes this by consulting and coaching with executives of companies and organizations.
Ann has a passion for leadership that blossomed when she spent nearly 10 years as the executive director of a county wide leadership program, Leadership Broward. She has over 20 years of experience in enhancing business growth and building organization strength. She holds a Masters in Education from Elmira College and is a graduate of Florida International University’s Professional Coaching and Harvard’s Art and Practice of Leadership Executive programs. She is a member of the International Coach Federation.
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