Supporting a colleague through transition           

Dear Caroline, I work with a team of five managers who lead a tech organisation. The business was family-owned and recently brought a new company shareholder. The shareholder is now in the majority, and as expected, their ownership has resulted in some exciting and innovative changes. However, one of my colleagues seems to be struggling to adjust to the chnages more than others, and her behaviour and attitude of late have become passive-aggressive, including reckless communication in some cases; she has knowingly enabled dissent and disgruntlement among staff. As a colleague and professional, can I do anything to mitigate a potential explosion?  Matthew

Hello Mathew, change and adjustment are always tricky but I am glad to read that your new shareholder is coming in with new and innovative ideas. You need to realise that technology is fast-paced and forever changing thus the organisations must also flex and be responsive to change.

It is commendable that you want to step in and support your colleague who seems to be struggling with behavioural adjustments. Remember, behavioural adjustments also include changing the softer aspects of leadership, including how you think strategically, communicating and accommodating others’ opinions; with the new shareholder, there may be an adjustment in how they want to define the organisation environment, so maybe that adjustment is proving more challenging than anticipated.

You may want to check that your observations are perceived the same as your colleagues. Your gathering of this information needs to be managed sensitively so that your colleague does not see it as “talking behind my back”. Once you have the information, ask your colleague for a cup of tea or coffee and ask how she is adjusting to the changes in the workplace. That discussion may yield to you having a better understanding of what her frustrations are or even the challenges that she is facing. In the discussion, you can then gently share your observations with her, making sure you have clear-cut examples demonstrating her undesired behaviour. Remember you are trying to help her change her behaviour and the impact on others. Hopefully, the discussion will be an icebreaker that will cause her to self-reflect and do something about it. If she acknowledges your feedback and takes it in good stride, you may also have the opportunity to work on two simple solutions that can help her.

The underlying message to your colleague is that she needs to manage her relationships and collaborations better and work on her emotional intelligence. It would be best if you reminded her that during change, especially yours, she needs to step up and demonstrate that she is a leader who can support others.  Good luck.

Caroline Mboijana,

Managing Director, The Leadership Team (U)  [email protected]