Dear Lewis: Can HRTech's X-Ray Vision Cut Through an Executive's Rose-Colored Glasses?
ManageBetter's CEO, Lewis C. Lin, helps a startup CEO use technology to understand a new employee.
Here we are again, my friends, back for another installment of Dear Lewis. Today, I share the story a client who’s the CEO of a Silicon Valley startup. She’s burning out, and she’s hoping that a promising COO candidate can be her right-hand man. But she’s concerned that she’s seeing the situation through rose-colored glasses and hoping that I can help.
Lewis C. Lin
Can cutting edge HR technology help me understand my employees?
I’ve been doing the executive coaching thing, and lately, I’ve been working with Jessica (not her real name), the CEO at a tech startup. She’s got a bit of a pickle on our hands involving Chris (not his real name), who's rocking the title of Director of Customer Success. See, Chris is cruising towards the end of the mandatory 90-day trial period, and Jessica's got to figure out if she's handing out a promotion or keeping things status quo.
During the initial month, Jessica was all high-fives and fist bumps for Chris, impressed by his attention to detail, leadership skills on various projects, and overall team-player vibes. By day 45, she even considered promoting him to COO, to help spread out her workload.
However, things took a turn by day 75, with Jessica and Chris engaging in a Clash of the Titans routine. Chris's confrontational style raised eyebrows, and doubts arose about whether he truly grasped the company's game plan. Concerned, Jessica sought my advice.
To unravel the intricacies, we turned to ManageBetter, a cutting-edge HRTech platform. It diagnosed Chris's performance hiccups, uncovering a penchant for personal agendas, a difficulty in aligning with and prioritizing overarching business goals, and hurdles in navigating conflicts.
This revelation hit Jessica like a curveball. What she initially perceived as Chris being a team player turned out to be a misunderstanding between days 30 and 60. With the rest of the team seldom expressing their thoughts, Jessica had placed Chris on a pedestal for being Mr. Outspoken.
During our discussions, I probed Jessica about Chris's tendency to revisit disagreements persistently. It turned out, Chris had a habit of holding onto these battles. I introduced the concept of "disagree and commit," emphasizing the importance of structured debates with clear decision periods.
I encouraged Jessica to implement the "disagree and commit" approach and suggested practical steps for Chris's personal growth, such as keeping a log of agreements and disagreements, tracking final decisions, and discussing these during their one-on-one meetings. This strategy aimed to address lingering disagreements and underscore the importance of long-term alignment.
To ease Jessica's nerves and prevent hasty decisions, I reassured her that Chris was a star performer but might need time to grow into the COO role. I proposed a 9 to 12-month timeline, banking on Chris sticking around even after resolving initial disagreements.
So, there you have it—a refined strategy to tackle hurdles, blending technology, coaching, and practical maneuvers for Jessica to navigate the Chris challenge like a boss.
Simple, right? Well, not always
I'm here to help. Email me if you have any management or employee challenges. I've got your back, and your identity will remain anonymous.
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