When Leaders Fight

If your boss or someone even higher in your reporting chain is engaged in a feud with a peer, pretending that you aren't involved can be dangerous. For instance, your boss might ask you for ammunition in the form of embarrassing information about the opposition, or you might be asked to deliver "ordinance" yourself. Either way you're at risk. See "Don't Staff the Ammo Dump," Point Lookout for January 3, 2001, for more.

It can get pretty complicated. If your job responsibilities require that you collaborate in an effort sponsored by the "opposition" organization, you might find yourself in a lose-lose situation. If you do collaborate, you risk being seen as disloyal within your own organization; if you don't collaborate, your job performance could be at risk.

When leaders fight, there's danger for everyone. Yet, we rarely hear of training in "Surviving Your Boss's Feuds," in part, because a program like that might be seen as an admission of serious organizational dysfunction. That's ironic, since offering such training would deter feuding behavior, or at least encourage any feuding partners to work things out. When leaders fight, HR isn't likely to be much help.

Here are some insights for surviving when leaders fight.

Everyone feels the pain

Certainly the antagonists feel pain — they wound each other at work, and they probably carry their pain home at night. And their subordinates fear for their careers if "their side" should lose. Even the non-aligned fear that they will be drawn into the mess.

The fight is a performance issue for the feuders' supervisor

The responsibility for intervention lies with the person who has organizational responsibility for both feuding parties. A feud of long standing is a sign that the responsible person hasn't yet acted effectively — or hasn't yet acted at all.

In proximity lies danger

The closer you are to the feud, the more you're at risk. At least one of the feuders, and probably both, will lose. You could be on the losing side, which might mean that you could be reassigned or lose your job. Prepare to move on.

You can lose (win) even if your boss wins (loses)

When your boss "wins," part or all of the losing organization might be absorbed into yours. The result could be a new tier in your organization, with you underneath it. When your boss "loses," you might be acquired and you might end up higher in the new org chart. Your interests are not necessarily aligned with the interests of your boss.

Once peace arrives, reorganization is a likely outcome, and you might find that you have new peers, new subordinates or new superiors. Taking a strongly partisan position during a feud could make trouble for you later. If you've been very partisan, or even if you haven't, practice bridge-building as soon as possible.  Top    Next Issue

Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

For more about feuds, see "Organizational Feuds."

Your comments are welcome

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Workplace Politics:

Breaking the Rules

Many outstanding advances are due to those who broke rules to get things done. And some of those who break rules get fired or disciplined. When is rule breaking a useful tactic?

Dismissive Gestures: III

Sometimes we use dismissive gestures to express disdain, to assert superior status, to exact revenge or as tools of destructive conflict. And sometimes we use them by accident. They hurt personally, and they harm the effectiveness of the organization. Here's Part III of a little catalog of dismissive gestures.

Workplace Politics and Integrity

Some see workplace politics and integrity as inherently opposed. One can participate in politics, or one can have integrity — not both. This belief is a dangerous delusion.

No Tangles

When we must say "no" to people who have superior organizational power, the message sometimes fails to get across. The trouble can be in the form of the message, the style of delivery, or elsewhere. How does this happen?

On Snitching at Work: I

Some people have difficulty determining the propriety of reporting violations to authorities at work. Proper or not, reporting violations can be simultaneously both risky and necessary.

See also Workplace Politics, Managing Your Boss and Conflict Management for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming October 23: Power Distance and Teams

One of the attributes of team cultures is something called power distance, which is a measure of the overall comfort people have with inequality in the distribution of power. Power distance can determine how well a team performs when executing high-risk projects. Available here and by RSS on October 23.

And on October 30: Power Distance and Risk

Managing or responding to project risks is much easier when team culture encourages people to report problems and question any plans they have reason to doubt. Here are five examples that show how such encouragement helps to manage risk. Available here and by RSS on October 30.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenmhXARWRMUvVyOdHlner@ChacxgDmtwOKrxnripPCoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Race to the South Pole: Lessons in Leadership

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough. But to organizational leaders, business analysts, project sponsors, and project managers, the story is fascinating. We'll use the history of this event to explore lessons in leadership and its application to organizational efforts. A fascinating and refreshing look at leadership from the vantage point of history. Read more about this program.

Here's a date for this program:

• Baldwin-Wallace University, 275 Eastland Road, Berea, Ohio 44017: November 7, Kerzner Lecture Series/International Project Management Day, sponsored by Baldwin Wallace University and the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Register now.
   

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly Webinar, sponsored by Technobility Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.