Coaching for NO Drama!

By LeeAnn Bailes Foster 

OH MY STARS!  Nothing drives me more crazy than unnecessary, workplace drama.  You know what I am talking about:  people that gossip and spread rumors, continuous complaining and lashing out emotionally, ranting about a perceived wrong, purposely excluding others, taking sides in conflicts, and the list goes on and on!

This article contains ten tactics to create a ‘No Drama Zone’ at work.  My goal is to give you some valuable resources to inspire emotionally mature behavior at work.  Illustrated below is a philosophy Team Foster Strategy LLC discusses with clients daily.  We believe that individuals must perform well AND behave well to be a part of our team.  Being overly dramatic in the workplace is not emotionally mature behavior.  It is an energy and resource drainer!

Here are the 10 tactics and a short paragraph about each:

• Lead by Example:  If we as HR Professionals lose our heads every time an issue arises, our workforce will follow our lead.  We are handing them a ticket to behave dramatically. Manage your emotions at all times.  Learn to walk away from gossip circles.  We must walk the talk and walk the walk!

• Create a Conflict Manage System:  Team Foster Strategy LLC teaches the C.A.L.M. Method.  Clarify the issue – Address the issue – Listen well to the other person – Manage the agreed upon plan. This method is a HR Professionals Magazine article in itself.  Maybe next time?

• Be as transparent as possible:  Practice ‘delayed transparency!  Yes – – we know that informed employees are engaged employees.  And that if we leave any blanks in the message, employees will fill in the blanks with incorrect information. It is very important that we think before we make an announcement.  Follow these steps:  stop, gather information, verify the information, then communicate to the workforce.

• Stop repeating the story:  Just Don’t Do It!  If you hear the gossip and/or rumors, do not repeat the story to anyone else and coach others to do the same.  Don’t be a part of the problem.  Have you ever heard the old saying, “Lose lips sink ships”?  If the HR Team is not trusted to speak the truth, the whole HR function at your organization will be derailed.  

• Hold open conversations about the tough stuff:  When possible, do not leave employees hanging on for information.  After each leadership team meeting or board meeting, create a cascading message to inform employees what was discussed and decided.  We know that not everything can be discussed with the employees.  However, most things can be.  Hold a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the highly important matters.  We want to relay the correct message in a timely manner.  We do not want the employees telling the story without the facts.

• Encourage employees to speak only for themselves:  No one likes a tattletale.  NO ONE!  If you are using someone in the company to tattle to you, please stop doing so.  You are setting that employee up for failure as a team member.  Also, stop an employee immediately when he/she says, “Everyone feels the same way”, “Everyone is saying this”, or “My husband says . . .”  Ask the employee to speak in first person and to speak only about what he/she thinks, knows, heard, etc.  Any other information is hearsay which is better known as gossip in the workplace.  

• Try to understand the ‘Why’:  When we take time to understand why the employee needs to act so dramatically, perhaps we can help resolve that issue which, in turn, will stop the dramatic behavior at work.  When an employee is seeking attention in an inappropriate manner, there is usually an underlying problem.  Find the root cause, do some coaching, then solve the problem.

• Shut down the troublemakers within 24 hours:  Please promise me you will do this!  Please!  Deal with the dramatic employees ASAP.  Innocent people are hurt badly by gossip and unfounded rumors.  I know. I have been.  As soon as you are informed regarding a gossiper or an employee acting dramatic, set up a coaching session.  Let it be known that dramatic behavior will not be tolerated on your team.  

• Extend grace and forgive:  As always, our intent must be to help; not to embarrass or berate.  We all make mistakes.  We all have character flaws and blind spots.  Extend grace to the dramatic employee.  We must establish a Culture of Second Chances.  Doing so will grow goodwill.  When goodwill grows, fresh air blows throughout the team.  

• Reward and recognize appropriate behavior:  Do NOT reward and recognize the proverbial ‘squeaky wheel’.  These people are often manipulative.  Just like giving into a child pitching a temper tantrum, giving attention to an overly dramatic person in the workplace will acerbate the problem.  When the dramatic actions are attention getting behaviors, we incentivize poor behavior by giving attention to the issue publicly.  So – let’s give so much attention to good behavior that the employees seeking attention via bad acts will want to do good.  

Remember – every system is perfectly designed for the results it gets. If you are having trouble with drama in your office, look closely and open-mindedly at how you are handling these incidences.  A change needs to be made.  I hope one or all of the tactics covered in the article will help you return your office to a productive and enjoyable place to work.