Wellness & Fitness

Why it’s time to get rid of your rigid manager

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Such a person might object to the introduction of a new way of doing business, or might be reluctant to be involved in the marketing of the practice. PHOTO | BD GRAPHIC

I have a manager who is killing my dreams of growing the business. She seems always on the negative whenever I come up with suggestions that I highly believe would help grow the company’s bottom line.

I have deliberately side-stepped her in some decisions and the results were positive. She, however, feels belittled when I don’t consult her and this is frustrating to me. How can I work with her?

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The simple answer to your question is that you must fire her at once. I hope you have not kept her around long enough to infect other members of staff with her negative attitude.

Now that you know what you must do, let us see how you can achieve this goal with minimum pain and for the benefit of the company. Your question does not tell us what your position in the company is or indeed what powers (or responsibilities) come with your office.

If, for example you run a small legal or medical practice and you are the senior partner, then it is much easier to effect our suggestion than if you are a branch manager of a large bank.

A small organisation has a simple decision making process. If your manager stands in the way of basic plans to grow the business, then it is probable that she is the wrong person for the job.

Such a person might object to the introduction of a new way of doing business, or might be reluctant to be involved in the marketing of the practice.

In a recent example, a group of lawyers decided to automate their practice by having a paperless office. A manager, such as yours, found 36 reasons why it could not be done. There was not a single reason for why it might be a good idea. After a few weeks of procrastination, the group finally fired her and the practice is rapidly growing against the back of greater efficiency.

I recently spoke to someone who was having a big problem with a team of lawyers he was working with in a major transaction. We visited them to see if there was a way of resolving the matter and even before we sat to discuss the issue, it was clear what the problem was – it was the lawyers’ attitude to dealing with challenges.

After the introductions, one of the lawyers told his client: “The problem with you is that you keep changing your mind. The other problem is that the other party has very young lawyers, but the most serious problem is that the the amounts involved are very difficult to secure in this kind of market.”

In the course of the conversation, I noticed that this lawyer started most of his sentences with the words “the problem is”. At no time did he offer a solution to any of the problems he saw so clearly.

In a moment of misguided enthusiasm on my part, I pointed out this fact to the lawyer and, right on cue, he pointed out, “The problem with you doctors is that you think you know everything”

Adequately chastised, I sat out the rest of the meeting in a state of studious silence, wondering how such a person could claim to be a lawyer in the field of commercial law in the 21st century.

Another lawyer whose frame of mind was different was able to resolve the matter in a few weeks. For him, he received his fee for resolving legal challenges. His colleague charged fees for describing the problems.

There are bankers who are the same. If one asks for a facility for Sh50 million, then the banker goes into the mode of explaining why that may not be possible.

Reasons will range from the interest rate fluctuations caused by the new central bank governor, and the problem of Europe caused by Greece.

Other readily available problems include the Al Shabaab, climate change, corruption and the possibility that waiting a few more than months could see the strengthening of the Kenya shilling.

If you point out to him that you need the funds now not in six months, the banker then states, “The problem with you is that you are always in a hurry.”

Unless a doctor finds a cure for your ailment, he is of no use to you. A detailed description of the symptoms and problems (even if correct) will not get you back on your feet.

You go to your doctor, lawyer banker and other experts for solutions, not a description of the problem. Sadly for you, the approach you have taken of deliberately sidestepping your difficult manager will not work.

You have adequate reason to believe that without her and her ideas the results can be positive. She is probably right in feeling belittled by you. She is in all probability of little value to your company and its future growth.

The situation in a big company might be slightly different and you may have to follow a more structured approach as defined in the HR manual.

This will prevent future problems with the kind of person you have, who sounds rather rigid, obsessional and a poisonous element to your company.