The Two-Headed Fear
I usually say that I
am only scared of a person with two heads, and thankfully, I have never met one.
Yet in my working life, I have had many encounters with colleagues, juniors,
seniors, and C-suite personnel.
In the main, they
have been nice, respectful, considerate, and courteous. It is the workplace
that brought us together; our backgrounds can be radically different, just as
our outlooks on the world might never be the same. If we are human, humane, and
accommodating of each other, it makes for a pleasant working environment.
Frustration Is No
Excuse
There have been
exceptions, people who think their positions give them room to misbehave and be
discourteous. Usually, they get away with it, and the behaviour becomes
compounded and accepted by many. Once, I was offering support to a caller at
work when he began hurling expletives out of frustration.
We all get
frustrated, but frustration is no excuse for abuse. I calmly told him that I
did not get paid enough to take abuse at work, and informed him that I was
going to put the phone down.
When he was ready to
discuss the matter calmly, he could call me again. We ended that conversation,
and a few minutes later, he called back, apologised, and I resolved the matter.
The Gracious Senior
VP
On another occasion,
a deployment for which I had provided statistics showing a high success rate
just happened to brick the Senior VP’s device. His secretary was implacable,
and other senior staff were running around like headless chickens. I was instructed
to call the SVP to explain my actions.
I had never met him
before, but he immediately acknowledged me, then said he had seen the
statistics and understood that, on occasion, something might fail; it just
happened to be his device. He closed with, “Take your time, I appreciate what
you do.”
There have probably
been other technical personnel elsewhere, in the very same position, marched
out of the office simply because the screen on a manager’s computer flickered.
Things can be that
brutal. I learnt early in my career that keeping users honestly informed reaped
more dividends than leaving them ignorant of what might affect what they do or
how they work. To inform is to liberate.
The Master of the
Universe
Bring in the esteemed
fellow, the one to whom no one says no. He has the ear of the CEO, and anything
he says is gospel and unquestioned. To have attained that status is
commendable; but unlike the generals of ancient times, who at their victory
parades had a man whisper memento mori into the ear of the celebrant, this
master of the universe, for all that they have achieved, yet so lacking in
character, thinks they own the world and that everyone answers to them.
They seek exemption
and exception in the demands they make. Aggression and coarseness are their
raison d'être; nothing is ever a request. They hold Aladdin’s lamp, incessantly
summoning the genie to grant any wish, and should the wish be denied, truculence
becomes them.
Any resistance, even
a reasonable challenge to their requirements, is met with forceful tales of woe
about how they cannot get anything done because the system, the design, or the
personnel are lazy, wasting time, and derelict in their duties.
The thrust of the
conversation leans towards disparaging you, your work, your team, and anything
else you have done professionally and diligently.
Winning the War for
Peace
It is tempting to
assume nothing can be done when management indulges its favoured figure. Yet
such attitudes can be named and challenged, and I have done so many times, with
success. The behaviour is not untouchable; it simply relies on everyone presuming
that it is.
Each encounter is
weighed on its own merits; sometimes you yield, and sometimes you hold firm.
Where there is no point in holding the fort, and they are used to having their
way, you make that allowance too, for the peace of mankind.
Yet even in those
bruising encounters, you can own facts that clearly prove their
position wrong, leaving them with no option but to concede the point, even if
they remain unrelenting in pursuit of their self-aggrandising goals.
We do not have to win
every battle when the war is for peace, for respect, for dignity, and for the
recognition that in every endeavour, no matter the position, the esteem, or the
remuneration, no one of us is better than another.
We are equal as human
beings, deserving of the same courtesy, respect, and dignity. It is in our
efforts together that we all make the organisations we work for successful.
