I have a problem at work that is causing me a great amount of frustration and dissatisfaction, and I’m starting to feel as if there is no way to fix the problem. I work in a small office and I was hired to manage certain administrative jobs, such as volunteer recruitment and management, and human resources duties. I have even received training in these areas, paid for by the company. The problem is that decisions in these areas are usually made by others in the office, without consulting me, or even informing me of the decisions. Volunteers have been selected without my involvement, and the first I knew of it was the day before the person showed up in the office! I have spoken about this to my CEO, and even wrote a letter outlining my concerns. Nothing has changed, except now I just feel petty for feeling that I should be allowed to manage the tasks that I have worked so hard to master. I’m wondering if I should ask to have my job re-assessed? I’m not sure if that would fix the communications problem, though. Am I being overly sensitive? Could you give me some suggestions for handling this problem?

You have clearly defined the problem you face – let’s look at some ways that you can resolve it. Let’s start with trying to determine and understand the motivation driving the behaviour of these “decision-makers”.

Anarchy rules

In small offices, duties can often get blurred in an all-for-one team approach that develops in order to help get things done with limited resources. This approach, however, can also lead to confusion and inefficiencies, particularly if no one at the top is serving as “Traffic Cop” directing duties. In your office, how clearly are individual roles defined? Can you point to each person and know what their responsibilities are? Can you do the reverse and think of a task (such as fundraising or bank deposits) and have a clear idea which staff member does, or is most likely to handle it? If you can’t do this consistently, there may need to be a more comprehensive review of everyone’s duties and responsibilities.

As the HR leader, this should be a little easier for you to initiate. You need to get buy-in from the CEO for this project, so outline to her the problem the organization (not you) faces because of the confusion in roles and responsibilities. For example: “We had two volunteers start because someone else hired at the same time, and we had to have one go home owing to lack of space”, or “two or more people end up working on the same project at the same time, which wastes resources”. Try not to focus on you and your problems at this stage, and keep it about helping the organization. Ideally, the CEO should then announce that she has tasked you with the responsibility of creating job descriptions for all staff (including the CEO).

Changing of the old guard

In conjunction with poorly defined roles there can be people in the organization who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo as it pertains to their roles. They may have always hired the volunteers, for example, and now feel threatened that you want to take over this role from them, even if it is officially sanctioned. They will do anything to undermine your role to protect theirs. To solve this problem, you might need to tackle it from two different angles. Let’s look at each part in turn:

Part 1. Since you have defined roles and responsibilities above, you can now set up regular status meetings to review priorities (or make it a part of the weekly staff meeting). Invite those people who are currently making those decisions that are really part of your job scope. Position it to them that you require their advice and input. They may feel less threatened, and see that they still have some say in the decision-making, while you are doing all the work involved. In this way, you can ingrain yourself into the decision making process. Over time, you may be seen as the true leader in this area, and their advice and input takes on less and less importance.

Part 2. Your CEO needs to understand their role as the ultimate arbitrator. If your CEO allows this behaviour to continue from staff, they may not have the leadership skills to stop it, which can be difficult to counteract. Remember to try to avoid merely complaining to the CEO about the situation (they already likely have enough problems of their own), but come up with proposed solutions to the problem. You can try to lead from below by advocating to your CEO to use techniques such as a simple sign off process on major decisions.

You should also remember to pick which battles you’re going to fight, and which points you’re going to cede to others.

A battle of wills

Without knowing the personalities involved, it is difficult to gauge, but these people might simply feel that they are entitled to act the way they do, based on some hidden internal motivator. It is helpful to understand what that motivation is. Have you tried talking to these rebels to understand why they are behaving the way they are? Consider asking the ringleader to lunch and get to understand their point of view. This could also give you an opportunity to explain to them what you are trying to do to help the organization. In effect, it might be better to join them, if you can’t beat them.

Learning from within

Evaluate your own personality traits, and ensure that you are showing adequate leadership to the group in these areas. Be as proactive as possible and consistently make it clear through your words and actions that you are taking responsibility for the areas under your authority. Be assertive without being dogmatic or demanding, and always provide professional advice and add value to the organization. Slowly you can assume the leadership role required to avoid confusion, and move things forward for the organization.

Good luck!

Mitchell Stephenson M.A., CPCC, is a senior partner and a certified professional career counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a career transition, counselling, and outplacement firm. Mitch has been involved in human resources, career counselling and coaching in the health and legal sectors for many years. To contact him, visit: www.catalystcareers.ca.

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