September 1, 2010	Volume 10, Issue 35
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What Insubordinate Non-Subordinates Want: Part III

by Rick Brenner

When you're responsible for an organizational function, and someone not reporting to you doesn't comply with policies you rightfully established, trouble looms. What role do supervisors play?

Gen. Patton and Gen. Weyland photographed at Nancy, France, where Third Army Headquarters and XIX Tactical Air Command Advance Headquarters were stationed in the same area. Gen. Weyland commanded XIX TAC beginning in January, 1944. Gen. Patton assumed command of Third Army shortly after the Normandy invasion. Working together, it is fair to say, they advanced the science of close air support. Their joint operations enabled Third Army to advance faster than contemporary doctrine held possible, because they used close air support to control and dominate Third Army's flanks. Gen. Eisenhower, adhering more closely to contemporary doctrine, favored advancing across a broad front. This led him to apply resources relatively more evenly than Gen. Patton favored, and ultimately paused Third Army's advance. Gen. Patton, who had been engaged in a long-running feud with Field Marshall Montgomery, saw this as the result of a purely political attack by the Field Marshall.

Sometimes, what appears to be the result of divide and conquer, or some other political move by one's rivals or superiors, is not that at all. People make decisions for many reasons, and sometimes those reasons include differences in perspective. Gen. Eisenhower's view of the dangers of salients was based on contemporary military doctrine. Gen. Patton and Gen. Weyland had already moved on from there, but it is probable that even they did not yet fully appreciate the degree to which they had done so. What seemed to Gen. Patton as a political decision was, at least in part, due to the difference in how he and Gen. Eisenhower viewed war.

Photo courtesy U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency.

As before, we'll use C as the name of the person who needs cooperation to carry out his or her responsibilities, and S as the name of the person subverting C. Here are some insights related to the behavior of the supervisors of C and S.

Strong public support from C's supervisor is essential

Unless C's supervisor declares to all that C has responsibility for the task in question, the problems C is experiencing could be the result of a misunderstanding. C's supervisor might have been inadvertently ambiguous, or might have chosen ambiguous wording to avoid conflict with one of C's peers.

When accepting any assignment that could offend others, C can ask for a supervisory commitment to make an unambiguous declaration to everyone whose cooperation C requires.

C's and S's shared supervisor might be using divide-and-conquer tactics

Some supervisors believe that competition is an effective tool for managing subordinates, using a technique I call divide and conquer. If S and C share a supervisor, S might be exhibiting behavior encouraged and even sought by their supervisor.

If so, C didn't create the Strong public support
from your supervisor
is essentialproblem, and C probably can't solve it. If C can't persuade S that the trouble between them is externally caused, C might have to move on.

C can't control S — only S's supervisor can

C's best options are asking S respectfully for cooperation, and negotiating with S for cooperation. If they fail, commenting to S about the quality of S's cooperation is a tempting but dangerous course of action. S's resentment and anger are likely outcomes.

If S's supervisor is C's peer, or of lower rank, C's asking S's supervisor directly for help can be effective. If S's supervisor is of higher rank, C can ask C's own supervisor for help. Some are reluctant to ask for such help, for fear that they might be seen as weak. Such a response by C's supervisor to a request for help is probably out of line, because this kind of help is exactly what supervisors are best able to provide.

S's supervisor might be targeting C or C's supervisor

On occasion, Ss act on behalf of their supervisors, who are targeting C or C's supervisor. Coping with this situation is difficult indeed, especially when S has received deniable direction.

In these cases, the problem is not between C and S. It's between S's supervisor and C or C's supervisor. C would be wise to deal with it as such.

The most effective strategy for C is asking for supervisor support proactively, before trouble develops. If the request is declined, C has the advantage of learning early that support is not available. First in this series   Top    Next Issue

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Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Illegal Dumping

To solve problems, we change existing policies or processes, or we create new ones. We try to make things better and sometimes we actually succeed. More often, we create new problems — typically, for someone else.

Devious Political Tactics: The False Opportunity

Workplace politics can make any environment dangerous, both to your career and to your health. This excerpt from my little catalog of devious political tactics describes the false opportunity, which appears to be a chance to perform, to contribute, or to make a real difference. It's often something else.

Dealing with Org Chart Age Inversions

What happens when you learn that your new boss is younger than you are? Or when the first two applicants you interview for a position reporting to you are ten years older than you are? Do you have a noticeable reaction to org chart age inversions?

When Power Attends the Meeting

When the boss or supervisor of the chair of a regular meeting "sits in," disruption almost inevitably results, and it's usually invisible to the visitor. Here are some of the risks of sitting in on the meetings of your subordinates.

Devious Political Tactics: Cutouts

Cutouts are people or procedures that enable political operators to communicate in safety. Using cutouts, operators can manipulate their environments while limiting their personal risk. How can you detect cutouts? And what can you do about them?

See also Workplace Politics and Conflict Management for more related articles.

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The Race to the South Pole: Ten Lessons for Project Managers

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough, but to project managers, the story is fascinating. Lessons abound. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

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The Politics of Meetings for People Who Hate Politics

There's a lot more to running an effective meeting than having the right room, the right equipment, and the right people. With meetings, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. How the parts interact with each other and with external elements is as important as the parts themselves. And those interactions are the essence of politics for meetings. This program explores techniques for leading meetings that are based on understanding political interactions, and using that knowledge effectively to meet organizational goals. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

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