Manager turnaround (continued)
by Miki SaxonWe talked for more than three hours brainstorming different ideas, playing out possible scenarios (some of the more outrageous ones really broke the tension) and finally came up with a plan that Ben felt comfortable implementing, based on his desire to stay at the company and belief that Jeana really couldn’t see what she was doing wrong and that she used to do it right.
Ben agreed that it wouldn’t be a quick fix, but that it was worth the effort.
Here’s an overview of our plan: as with the mule (described here) first we had to get Jeana’s attention; then help her develop a new version of how she used to be, since the old version was based on who she was before the promotion and that person really didn’t exist any more. Sounds simple, but accomplishing will be anything but.
During our brainstorming, we decided that the best 2×4 would be Jeana’s own words, so Ben dug out an old voice activated recorder that he could use to tape solid examples of both her talk and her walk.
Once he has a good selection, he’ll transcribe them and send me a copy. We’ll sort through them for the most obvious contradictions between talk and walk.
We agreed that the most critical aspect of the operation would be how Ben brings it up so we decided to wait until we have all our ducks, organize them and see what makes the most sense. We want to avoid creating a confrontational atmosphere.
The one thing we’re sure of is that it will be totally private, with nobody involved except Ben and Jeana. Ben has no interest in embarrassing her and knows that the whole thing could backfire and he’d be out. Even so, he feels it’s worth it, since he’d be gone anyway and, based on the weekly recruiter calls he gets, another job isn’t a concern.
Ben plans to start collecting “samples” right after Labor Day. It’ll be awhile, but I’ll keep you posted.
