Q: Our new CEO is very vindictive and has a network of "spies" who feed him stories about people he doesn't like. He uses fabricated information to fire people and displays his power by having security personnel escort terminated employees off the premises.
Another manager and I met with him to talk about how all this negativity has affected customer service and employee morale. We had numbers to prove that customer satisfaction has declined and employee turnover has increased since his administration came in.
In the meeting, we presented our concerns professionally and did not complain about the CEO. The end result was that he had Human Resources place us both on final written warning for insubordination. For the next year, we can be terminated immediately for any additional offenses.
Now that I have become a sacrificial lamb, I need to know how to direct attention away from myself, especially because the CEO questions people about my activities. What sort of relationship is it safe to establish with this person? And do you think this type of leadership will succeed?
A: With a malicious and destructive CEO, the only safe choices are to lie low or leave. The CEO position has almost unlimited power, which can be used readily against anyone viewed as an adversary.
Immature and insecure executives take any negative feedback as a personal betrayal, which is why your well-intentioned comments were perceived as insubordination. Your final warning puts you perilously close to receiving one of the infamous security escorts.
To escape this fate, you must focus on your work and avoid drawing attention to yourself. If you see the CEO, smile pleasantly and say "hello." When talking with him about business issues, be your most agreeable and friendly self. In time, his wrath is likely to dissipate.
But even if you survive, you're still stuck in a toxic organization, which is harmful to both your mental and physical health.
To reduce your stress, stop trying to change things that are out of your control, such as your CEO's management style. Instead, focus your energy on exploring possible opportunities elsewhere.
Paranoid managers almost always fail in the long run. Their brutal style drives away top performers and keeps people from telling them about problems. But this downfall often takes a long time, so you would be wise to get a job search under way.
Q: I am a part-time horticulturist in a large hotel. My job is to keep all the inside plants clean, watered and disease-free. I work all night on the graveyard shift with a co-worker who does the same job full time. He also goes to school and has two part-time jobs.
The problem is that my co-worker uses this night-shift position to sleep, so I have to work twice as hard. Our boss is not here at night, so he thinks this person is just the greatest. I don't want to be a snitch, and I don't know if I would be believed anyway. What should I do?
A: First, ask your manager to clearly differentiate the duties of these two jobs. Explain that the work can be done more efficiently if each of you has distinct responsibilities or a specific territory to cover.
Then you must do only your own job. If you stop covering for the sleepyhead, your boss eventually will notice the dry, dusty foliage in your co-worker's area.
Your other option is to make an appointment with Human Resources and describe the problem just as you have here. Action is quite likely to follow, since hotel management is not paying people to snooze.
- Marie G. McIntyre is an Atlanta-based workplace coach. Her weekly column is syndicated by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Send questions at www.yourofficecoach.com.