This is about to get a bit awkies, but let's say there's a rotten egg amongst your crew of stellar account or project managers. It's hard to stand by and watch those kind of workers when you're ambitious and conscientious. Particularly if you see it impacting work or other people. It's easy to steer a newbie or entry-level colleague back on track. Just lend a helping hand as the higher authority. But how do you go about doing the same for the veterans or superiors? There are a few dos and don'ts to navigate this rocky road of calling out your senior + knowing the time to escalate it higher.
Watching the downfall
Here's a little personal tale to set the scene. I started in a new project management role and was trained up by the agency's Project Director (PD). He'd be at the agency since it's inception and good friends with the managers. He was instrumental in setting the tools, processes, and pretty much all assets used to this day (SoW, budgeting, invoicing, timelines). He was the go to man when shit hit the fan and had my back.
Three years into the role and I noticed he took a real lapse in work ethic. I knew some personal stuff was going on, so let it slide for a while. But before I knew it, this lapse in work ethic had become the new norm and months later it had been maintained.
The signs are pretty damn obvious
What did I start to notice:
Long lunch breaks / late to work
Minimal work during his 'remote' days (far and few comms with clients through our PM tool)
Always 'busy' but little output to show from it
Poor project management of accounts (projects going over, so-so client feedback, iffy colleagues)
Low bill-ables & number of clients
Over-delegation of work to others
Surely other people noticed what I did? The weird thing was, no-one said anything.
Our MD was too busy to really keep tabs on it. And in hindsight, had a high degree of trust in our Project Director due to his history in the business. It led to rose coloured glasses. So everyone else just carried on dealing with the poor performance.
If we're not addressing the problem person, then what are we doing?
All in all, a shitty team culture started to bubble under the surface and no one actually spoke up about it to the problem - our PD.
In fact:
78% of colleagues will complain to others (this was some of the devs)
66% will do extra (unnecessary) work (this was me for quite some time!)
53% stew on the problem (this was my designers)
50% get pissed off (this was one of my fellow PMs)
So what should we be doing instead?
It's daunting approaching your superior about these kind of things. But it's given me a chance to reflect on a few dos & dont's if I'm ever in this situation again:
DO: Approach them first
Best to go to the route of the problem and chat to them directly. Figure out if something is wrong or get their perspective on the situation. This will help frame the situation, as there's gotta be some reason behind their change in behaviour. It also shows a level of care and transparency to work with them to resolve things.
DO: Plan for their reaction
It's helpful if you understand the psychology of the person. By that I mean, do they respond well to authority, conflict, negative feedback. How are they likely to react? Understanding and preparing for their reaction will help shape your conversation.
It took the convo I had from "Hey your billables are low this month and have been for a while. What's happening?" to "Hey I noticed your billables haven't been as high as usual. Is everything okay?" It opened up the conversation in a more natural and softer way as my PD reacts badly to assertive feedback.
DON'T: Shit talk to others
Don't spread bad joo joo around the office and contribute to a negative vibe. Keep your thoughts and comments targeted at the right people (i.e. the problem person).
I could've nailed this better during my time. It's easy to complain and let off some steam, particularly if others are feeling the same. By me opening up, others did too. Sure it was nice to know my feelings weren't unheard and others were in the same boat. BUT! It wasn't helpful for any of us since it failed to resolve things.
DON'T: Pick up the slack
Hell no to enabling the situation. If you can push back, then do it.
I started saying no to new projects that my PD delegated to me. Felt a bit unnatural at first since it wasn't my job to dictate workload. But in doing so, I knew they'd fall back onto my project director's plate and force him to pick up the slack (his slack).
DO: Keep tabs
If need be, keep tabs and document failings, conversations, bad behaviours, dates, times, whatever. Have this in your arsenal ready to roll if the conversation needs to be escalated to higher management.
Luckily it never reached that point for me, but I mentally kept tabs of various failings and prepared myself for a conversation with my boss if push came to shove.
DON'T: Be passive-aggressive
You can't pretend things are all peaches and cream and throw in snide comments to undermine your colleague.
This is also something my PM crew needed to work on. We started logging names against billable work - so it was clear who brought in the dough. Just a passive-aggressive nudge to say "Hey managers, look at how little he's doing!"
Our MD & GM had greater insight into how little our project director was doing, but it threw him under the bus in a public forum.
Sure it worked at addressing our concerns with management, but it lead to an unspoken, iffy relationship with our PD that was never repaired.
DON'T: Dawdle
Get on this asap. Addressing your concerns directly and timely means you can keep the conversation specific and relevant. Leave it too long and you've moved into a weird grudge phase + (in my case) it starts to deeply impact colleagues, team morale, project success, cash-flow, the list goes on!
DO: Know your place
There are some conversations that shouldn't rest on your shoulders. Some behaviours (like late arrivals, long lunches) are best left to be discussed through your HR team or managers. Focus on what you can influence within the situation and hone in on that.
The time to escalate
Sometimes your efforts to improve the situation don't go far. In which case the entire situation needs to be elevated to higher management.
This is where your efforts culminate. You haven't just rushed to your boss's door for a bitch. You value their busy schedule and can show the steps you've taken to try and resolve the issue directly (approaching them first + not picking up the slack).
You can give background to perhaps why they are poorly performing (understanding their motives). You've got a list of points to address and reference (keeping tabs). And by coming to your boss you're showing initiative to get things resolved as quickly as possible (no dawdling) for the benefit of the organisation & clients (with hopefully no shit talk or passive-aggressiveness along the way).