Managing Sticky Situations at Work

38 Managing Sticky Situations at Work‘‘What you want me to do is spend more time with Lisa and Janicewhen I’m in the office. Maybe I could take them for coffee one morninga week?’’ (Resolves the issue.)‘‘There ya go. That wasn’t so hard was it?’’‘‘Anything else?’’‘‘No, that about covers it.’’‘‘So I get a 3 this time because of these two shortcomings? I findthat a bit harsh. Is everything else really okay?’’ (Invites more input.)Richard sighs and says, ‘‘I’m going to up the rating to a 4. But Iexpect to see some major changes in your behavior. You’re one ofour top salesmen. People respect you. It would be nice if you’d showthem some equal respect.’’‘‘Let’s just be sure I’m clear. If I never take someone else’s samplesand put in requisitions for samples as soon as I’m running low, andsecondly if I take Janice and Lisa to coffee once a week, my rating willgo up next year.’’ (Clarifies the resolution.)Richard rises and shakes Mark’s hand. ‘‘I see no reason why not.Just show your office colleagues the same respect you show your clientsand you’ll be fine.’’‘‘Thanks, Richard. It helped when you were more specific with whatyou wanted. Also, I would appreciate it if you’d tell me before our nextreview when I’m doing something wrong. I’d like to make a correctionsooner. My goal is to get to 5 next year. I’m sure I can do thatwith your help.’’‘‘Sure. I’ll do what I can.’’PERSONALITY OVERLAYWhat personality type was Mark dealing with? Let’s look at whatmattered to Richard. He was most concerned because Mark steppedon other people and because he was not friendly with the support staff.Meanwhile Mark was one of the company’s top salespeople. A Technicalor a Bold would not care if Mark did not get along well with others.They would more readily recognize results and bottom lines. Richardis likely a Sympathetic. Richard’s reluctance to give Mark bad news alsosuggests he’s a Sympathetic. Sympathetics hate to disappoint others.ANALYSISSpecify the Problem. Once Mark heard his performance rating, heasked questions to find out what the problem was. He specified that hehad hoped to increase his evaluation. Instead it remained unchanged.