Workplace Tension Can't Be Ignored - Part Two

One of my consulting clients has a guy on staff that is like the Archie Bunker of the company. Even if you don't know who Archie is, you likely have worked with this guy (or gal equivalent)...or someone like it. He's a negative angry individual who wouldn't be happy if God himself came down and hand fed him warm porridge from a golden plate while angels rubbed his feet and sang beautiful hymns until he fell asleep.

To shortcut further description...the guy is an ass through and through.

In my short time working with this client, I have seen people literally avoid talking to the guy for fear of the outlandish response that they might get to a question, inquiry or a simple offer of good morning. The CEO of the company puts up with this guy because he is basically a producer delivering consistent sales numbers month after month. "How can I get rid of someone who makes the company money?" was his response to me when I asked why he kept this guy around.

My response was simple, straightforward and 100% true. How can you afford not to?

Workplace tension can be created by a number of sources; sales budgets, company performance, customer satisfaction issues, leadership, workplace culture, vision or expectations and yes, and this is likely one of the biggest, people. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Any company doing anything out there requires people and unfortunately we don't always get to handpick the people we work with or (in the case of this CEO) depend on.

Though there are many sources for workplace tension, I am a people person and thus that is the number one area that I focus on with my clients. Those other listed symptoms for workplace tension are so much easier handled when they arise if you have a team of people who work well with one another and are able to collectively come together to tackle issues TOGETHER.

In the next post we will explore specific strategies on dealing with the Archie's of the workplace and talk about some strategies for helping people communicate more effectively in the workplace.

Ripple On!!!

Steve