Lisa* charged into the office and sat down with a sense of defiance that I hadn’t seen in a while. She is fed up with her situation at work and has finally decided to do something about it. There have been several managerial changes which has led to a deterioration of her work with customers. For the past year, she has tried over and over to discuss the issues at work with her boss and he either cuts her off, dismisses her, or changes the subject. More importantly, she cannot locate him when she needs to discuss something. “He always disappears in one form or another” she exclaims, “I am going to HR!”
After she calmed down, she was able to take a less defiant stand and said she needed to take some time to consider her course of action.
Lisa and I have spent time in our coaching sessions addressing how to best help her perform the duties of her job. We also discussed what she can do to receive support from her boss given the impact of the changes on her work. She had considered going to Human Resources as they are independent of her department and uninvolved in the conflict.
Some Things to Consider
If you feel that your situation needs to be brought to a higher level the following are some things to consider.
If you cannot speak to another manager about your boss, you can consider going to HR to discuss your concerns. They are trained to be an independent third party in the workplace. The only thing to remember is that depending on the type of issues that you address with HR, they may not be able to keep the conversation confidential if it impacts safety or customer service.
Remember, no matter who you speak to or how the conversation goes, it’s important to listen and be professional. Even if the meeting doesn’t go as planned, you were able to engage in a difficult conversation. Ultimately, this is a first step in improving your job performance and being the best employee that you can be.
Kay Gimmestad, LCSW-C is a business coach and clinician in New York City with 20 years of experience working in the profit and not for profit sectors of Human Resources, Health and Human Services. She has built a reputation for being highly skilled in facilitating behavior change while working with employees, both individually and in groups, on matters relating to performance management, substance abuse, crisis intervention, and stress/wellness.
After she calmed down, she was able to take a less defiant stand and said she needed to take some time to consider her course of action.
Lisa and I have spent time in our coaching sessions addressing how to best help her perform the duties of her job. We also discussed what she can do to receive support from her boss given the impact of the changes on her work. She had considered going to Human Resources as they are independent of her department and uninvolved in the conflict.
Some Things to Consider
If you feel that your situation needs to be brought to a higher level the following are some things to consider.
- Have you considered speaking to a trusted coworker about your experience with all the changes?
- Have you prepared an agenda of the issues that you want to cover? Some people find it helpful to provide a script with specific concerns and the timeline for which they occurred. This will keep the meeting structured and focused on key issues versus every big and small issue that comes up at work.
- Have you spoken to another supervisor about your concerns? If you phrase it that you are concerned about how the problems impact customers and the services rendered to them, you are more likely to be heard.
- Were you satisfied with the outcome of the meeting? If not, do you want to schedule a follow-up meeting or speak to someone at the next level?
If you cannot speak to another manager about your boss, you can consider going to HR to discuss your concerns. They are trained to be an independent third party in the workplace. The only thing to remember is that depending on the type of issues that you address with HR, they may not be able to keep the conversation confidential if it impacts safety or customer service.
Remember, no matter who you speak to or how the conversation goes, it’s important to listen and be professional. Even if the meeting doesn’t go as planned, you were able to engage in a difficult conversation. Ultimately, this is a first step in improving your job performance and being the best employee that you can be.
Kay Gimmestad, LCSW-C is a business coach and clinician in New York City with 20 years of experience working in the profit and not for profit sectors of Human Resources, Health and Human Services. She has built a reputation for being highly skilled in facilitating behavior change while working with employees, both individually and in groups, on matters relating to performance management, substance abuse, crisis intervention, and stress/wellness.
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