DO YOU MANAGE? By Michael Rogers

CASE STUDY

Mister Know-It-All"THAT'S THE WORST THING I'VEever heard," trumpeted Frank Nudge,interrupting Pam Bowden. "This iswhat we should do," he continued.Nudge proceeded to point out theflaws in Bowden's thinking and pre-sented his own ideas on how to revampthe reference department of BastianCollege Library.

"That's how we have to do this." theyoung man said, concluding his lengthynionolog.

"Thank you," department head Lau-retta Kiernan said, "that's a very niter-esting approach to..."

"Let me know when you want tostart," Nudge said hefore Kiernan hadfinished.

After another hour of talk disruptednumerous times by Nudge, Kiernanthrew in the towel. "That's enough forone day. We're all pretty much brain-dead by now, so let's pick it up againanother time."

"I thought we had a plan," Nudgesaid. "Why don't we just proceed? Imean why keep talking about it whenthe solution is so obvious?"

"I'd like to sleep on it if you don'tmind," Kiernan said.

"I don't see why, but okay if youwant to keep running in circles," hesaid, blowing out an exasperated breath.

The meeting broke up, and the staffw ent beck to their posts.

"I'd like to strangle that little snot,"growled Bowden through gritted teeth."1 spent two weeks working out thatproposal, and I didn't get halfwaythrough it before that idiot took over.What IS witb him?" she said, massagnig

The incidents described in How DoYou Manage? are based on actual eventsin libraries across the United Statesand Canada. Lj welcomes reportsof such incidents for possible use inthis column. Send your accountsto How DoYou Mandf^e?/UbraiyJournal.360 Park Avenue South, New York, NYlOOlU or to mrogers@reedbu.siness.com

the bridge of her nose. "That gave mea headache."

"I'll bet he got beat up a lot in highschool," Lucille Darcy said.

"Why did they have to stick himwith us?" Bowden pondered.

"Because he's already been in twodifferent departments, and they could-n't stand him," Darcy answered.

"Dr. Kiernan seems to like him.""I admit Frank does good work. I

just wish he didn't toist his opinions onevcrythinii down our throats," Darcysaid. "U you disagree with him. he's allover you. You're almost afraid to dis-agree because he practically screams inyour face. He's not just a know-it-all,he's a bully."

"He's well named, I'll say that,"smirked Bowden.

"Well, it's not just us; he does it witheverybody. How many times did he in-

ANALYSIS I

terrupt Dr. Kiernan and everybody elsein that meeting? I lost count."

"And he's been equally rude to allthe higher-ups. He has no concept ofthe hierarchy,"Bowden said."He's beenhere for less than a year and he acts likehe runs the place."

"I know we're not the only oneswho feel this way. I saw Janet from up-stairs in the ladies room the other dayand she was practically in tears aftergetting into a disagreement with him,"remarked Darcy. "It was about some-thing completely stupid, too, like abouta movie or something. No matter what,he has to be right all the time. And bewon't let it go either. He keeps swing-ing away at you until you surrender."

"I hate to rat someone out," saidBowden, "but maybe we should com-plain to the dean about him."

"Do you really think we should?"

Wake Up, KiernanBy Rowan Salt, Team Leader, InfoServices, Griffith University, Australia

It is a golden rule of management thatinterpersonal conflict should be dealtwith as soon as it arises.This is a lessonmanagers often learn through experi-ence, and in this study Kiernan seemsto be about to learn it the hard w ay.

Kiernan has tailed in a number ot ar-eas, including allowing Nudge to in-terrupt Bowden and take control of theagenda and by not making a decisionduring the meeting. It is unacceptablefor Kiernan to allow Nudge to domi-nate tbe meeting. This wastes herteam's time and undermines her au-thority. Constant interruptions, lengthymonologs. and an environment inwhich staff are reluctant to express theiropinions for fear of being personally at-tacked are obviously not conducive toeffective decision-making, not to men-

tion staff morale or camaraderie.By asking to "sleep on it," Kiernan is

avoiding tbe real issue.This exacerbatesthe problem: discouraging Bowden,frustrating Nudge, and sending a clearmessage to the rest of the team that sheis either incapable or unwilling to dealwith Nudge herself.

Although Nudge's behavior is clearlyunacceptable, it is possible that the se-riousness of the issue has never beenraised with him. Until Nudge is madeaware of his behavior and the effect ithas on others, it is difficult to hold himalone accountable tor the disruption hisbehavior creates. By moving Nudgebetween units rather than managinghis performance, the management teammay well be sending him e.xactly thewrong signals. As Nudge appears unable

56 I LIBRAKY JOURNAL | OCTOBER 1,2004

to "read" his colleagues' discomfortwith his approach, he may be unawareof the impact it is having upon othersand interpreting his constant move-ment through the organization as tacitapproval or even encouragement.

There is another, less obvious issuehere. The identification and encour-agement of talent among younger staffshould be a priority for leaders at alllevels of the organization. Bowdennotes that Kiernan "seems to like"Nudge, and even Darcy grudgingly ad-mits "he does good work." However,unless his flaws are actively managed,this potential is unlikely to be realized.

Kiernan has three immediate tasks:• Confront Nudge. Kiernan must

speak to Nudge honestly and direct-ly about his approach and its conse-

ANALYSIS II

quences. Nudge should he madeaware that his behavior is unaccept-able and that, as department head,Kiernan is committed to dealingwith it. Depending upon her assess-ment of the seriousness and urgencyof the situation, Kiernan may dealwith it through mentoring andcoaching Nudge or taking steps tomanage him out of the organiza-tion. In either case. Nudge needs toknow exactly what is expected ofhim and what will happen if he doesnot meet these expectations.Regain control. Kiernan shouldalso assert her authority within teammeetings by maintaining control ofthe agenda, providing space for theentire team to contribute, and tak-ing decisive action when it isrequired. If handled correctly, this

will go a long way to resolving thesituation. At the very least it shouldreduce its impact upon the team'sperformance.

• Reassure her team. If the priortwo actions are executed effectively,this third step may not be necessary.If there is not immediate improve-ment in Nudge's behavior. Kiernanmay need to speak to her teammembers to assure them that she isin control of the situation.

If her staff members are consideringtaking the issue to the dean, it is obvi-ous that they do not currently haveconfidence in Kiernan's ability to dealwith Nudge herself. Although I hopeDarcy and Bowden take their concernsto Kiernan before they complain tothe dean, I fear it may be too late.

Nudging NudgeBy William Walsh, Head. Acquisitions Department. Georgia State University Library, Atlanta

In between transferring Nudge fromone horrified department to the next,has anyone actually tried telling theman how his actions make them feel?

Although Nudge obviously needs towork on his interpersonal skills and hasmuch to learn about appropriate pro-fessional conduct, he can hardly befaulted for his lack of clairvoyance.

Why has the dean and library man-agement allowed any employee to bemoved among three departments in lessthan a year? Why didn't Nudge's previ-ous department heads address his defi-ciencies rather than passing the prob-lem along for someone else to handle?Why doesn't Kiernan have better con-trol over her meetings? Why don'tBowden and Darcy speak up for them-selves when they feel Nudge is behav-ing like an ass?

It's ironic that Bowden faultsNudge for having no concept of thelibrary's hierarchy and then suggeststhat she and Darcy circumvent theirsupervisor by taking their complaintsdirectly to the dean. Instead of tattlingon Nudge, Bowden and Darcy shouldseize this opportunity to work withKiernan to improve the department's

and library's work environment.Both Bowden and Darcy need to

make sure that Kiernan understandsthe deleterious effect they feel Nudge'sbehavior is having on the workplace. Asimprobable as it seems, it is not clearthat Kiernan understands the serious-ness of her problem from her few fee-ble attempts at diplomacy during thedepartmental meeting. Perhaps in thepast Kiernan was lucky enough to havea staff who worked well together with-out extensive direction. If so, this is nolonger the case.

Kiernan should reiterate to her stafftheir responsibility to let her know ifthey have any issues, problems, or con-cerns. She should then meet one onone with Nudge to lay out exactlywhat is expected from members of thedepartment in terms of workplace be-havior. Nudge needs to understand thatsuccessful organizations succeedthrough collaborative effort and thatsolutions need to work for everyoneinvolved, not just for him. While ideasare valued, constant interruptions aresimply rude. To help everyone betterunderstand each other. Kiernan shouldsuggest that everyone in the depart-

ment take a personality preference test.In addition, she and her staff should ex-plore what staff development trainingopportunities are available and take ad-vantage of them.

Even Nudge's detractors grudginglyadmit he's a valuable employee. Re-solving this situation will take time andeffort but will be highly rewarding forthe entire library.

As for poor Janet, who was almostreduced to sobbing in the ladies' room?Obviously, no one should be made tofeel like this-—especially in a work en-vironment. But she must understandthat it's impossible for an employer toregulate someone's opinions.While no-body would dispute that Nudge's de-livery needs work, he's entitled to feelhowever he chooses about a particularmovie. If Nudge bothers her as much ashe seems to, it would be best for Janetand everyone involved if she kept herinteractions with him strictly profes-sional. It's her choice if she wants todiscuss movies, music, television, etc..with her coworkers. Like everyone elseat Bastian College Library, she. too,needs to accept responsibility for heractions.

SEE LJ ARCHIVES, NEWS, AND MORE AT WWW.L1BRARYJ0URNAL.COM \ OCTOBER 1,2004 I LIBRARY lOURNAL | 57