managing a team that resists any change and complains constantly

A reader writes:

I am the HR person for a small nonprofit which offers many different services to the public. We have one team in particular which has always been difficult to manage and has not really gotten along with any manager they have had.

We’ve most recently brought in a new manager for this team who does tend to do things quite differently than any of the other managers (current or former). Let’s call her Barbara. Barbara is a go-getter with a strong personality and is very focused on making rapid changes to many of the current or older practices and processes which she feels will better serve the public. Upper management is generally supportive of these changes!

It is important to note that this team has two specific focuses for their work output, and is tasked with creating and providing customized services to the public (among other things). This team is VERY resistant to change. They often flat-out refuse to make some of the changes Barbara is trying to make, and will say that it’s “too soon” or it “happened too fast” or they “weren’t included in the decision” or “were never notified of the change” (even though there is documentation saying otherwise). They will bring complaints such as Barbara isn’t doing enough to help them (though she is doing more than she should be already, and her boss — our CEO — had specifically requested she not get as involved with the creation and implementation of these special services to the public because past managers of this department had done just that and burnt themselves out). They have also said that they shouldn’t have to do anything with one of the main focuses of their jobs (even though it’s literally part of the department’s title and has been a task on their plate since the department’s inception) and that other departments need to help out more (even though the other departments don’t do the same work this department does, and they already have enough on their plates as it is). Basically, it’s giving “I don’t want to do the assignments I don’t like, and you can’t make me.”

Now, I will say that Barbara can be a little prickly and even intense in her management style, which has exacerbated this situation a bit. Upper management and HR (me) have identified some things that Barbara needs to work on to help make her a more effective manager and be better equipped to manage this team, but we understand it takes two to tango. Barbara does have some really great emotional intelligence for others, which has helped, but she does have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to her reactions.

With all that said, this team has brought these same complaints for every manager they’ve had. We’re starting to think that this is less a manager problem and more a team problem. And we are at our wits’ end of how to make this all stop, short of sitting them all down and firmly telling them to knock it off or get out (in so many more legal words, of course!). I should also note that we are in a unionized environment, which also complicates things.

Yeah, this sounds like a them problem, not a Barbara problem.

Barbara may not be a perfect manager, but it sounds like this team complains about the same things no matter who is managing them, and those things are nonsensical.

Your instinct to sit them all down and tell them to knock it off or leave is the right one. The framing you want is: “I want to be clear about what you can and can’t expect on this team, regardless of who is managing it. One of the fundamental jobs of this team is to do X, and it will continue to be a major focus of your work, and not one we pull other departments in to help with. We also support Barbara, or any manager of this team, making changes like X, Y, and Z. While input is always welcome, the final call will be made by your manager and we expect you to roll forward with those decisions once they’re made. At the end of the day, your manager will give you assignments and set policy, and your job is to carry those out. If this doesn’t work for you or isn’t the way you intend to operate, that’s of course your prerogative, but it does mean you can’t remain in this job. Take some time to think about whether you are or aren’t willing to work this way, and if you aren’t, we can begin planning on a transition out. But if you choose to remain on this team, those are the baseline expectations.” You should also say, “We should have been clearer about this earlier, because at this point the ongoing pushback has become disruptive to our work. We absolutely support you in deciding whether or not this will work for you, and I want you to have all the information about what you can expect going forward, so that you can make the right decision for yourself.”

From there, Barbara will likely need to have individual versions of that conversation with people because it’s unlikely that this will flip a switch overnight. But if she holds firm and doesn’t try to cater to unrealistic demands (the way it sounds like previous managers have tried), it’s likely to get better in time as people get the message. (And some people may leave over it, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.)

The union rules may dictate specific procedures that you need to follow in doing all of this, but it shouldn’t change the basic message or the fact that you can hold firm on what the job is and what will and won’t change in response to complaints.

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