Whether you are engaged in audit work, or managing your company's annual budget setting process, conflict is an inevitable part of the accountant's world. Ben Rawal tells a story about how, sometimes, things can quickly balloon out of control.
Steve was a seasoned financial professional. In his 30 years as an accountant, he knew his way around a set of figures and had line managed more than fifty team members in his time. Despite Steve's lengthy experience, he appeared to have a knack for upsetting people. This was particularly noticeable when he attended large gatherings, regardless of who attended and whether or not he was chairing the meeting.
Most people initially found Steve to be a likeable, confident and energetic member of the team. For new members of staff, it was a mystery how he had cultivated this reputation – until they attended a meeting with him. Steve frequently interrupted his peers, raised the volume of his voice and when challenged, would often stand up and walk around the room to make his point. For most of his colleagues, this was simply "Steve being Steve", but it was clear that there were other factors in hand.
Steve and I
Steve and I worked together in a variety of settings for more than six months – team meetings, one-on-ones, workshops, social events and committee meetings were all covered. This variety of interactions enabled me to identify consistencies in Steve's behaviours, and more importantly, the key triggers to his more undesirable behaviours.
For Steve, his dominance drive was particularly pertinent, and his behaviours would noticeably change when he perceived a threat to his dominance. This would be observed through his interruptions and raising the volume of his voice (attempting to take control of the conversation) and by walking the room (physically demonstrating his dominance). All of these actions were incredibly helpful and reinforcing for Steve, but not for others around him. He would frequently walk out of a meeting highlighting the successes of the conversations and decisions made, failing to acknowledge the impact that his behaviours had had on others in the room. His colleagues would complain about not being heard, having their opinions dismissed, and a general feeling of being intimidated. For others, conflict was being created by Steve's behaviours.
Learning and growing
Steve was shocked that people might have thought of him this way.
These observations came as a bit of a shock to Steve, who had never realised that his actions could have such a significant effect on his team. Through coaching, and intervention during meetings, we were able to successfully deal with Steve's behaviours and his need for dominance. This took time, as Steve's habitual chest-beating continued to occur during meetings until he could recognise the behaviour himself and subsequently adapt his reaction when he felt challenged or lacking in dominance.
By the conclusion of my contract, Steve had consistently created new habits and ways of dealing with individuals in meetings, and his team members also highlighted how much easier it was for them to challenge and raise their concerns. An excellent result all round!
Ben Rawal is an author for accountingcpd. To see his courses, click here.
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