This episode’s question…
My position is cross-functional – I work with people from across the business in a multitude of disciplines. One of the people that I interact with has no boundaries – he is constantly working, day and night and weekends. While that may work for him and his leader, it’s not how I and my team operate. Additionally, he refuses to communicate with anyone over anything but a call or meeting. The problem comes in when my team needs to interact with him. He expects others to act the way he does – he sends out emails on Saturdays and Sundays demanding a call over the weekend, he expects others to be available at any time, anywhere, with no regard to their schedules. If they respond that they are booked or unavailable, he replies “It will only take a few minutes.” This guy is the core of several projects, so we MUST interact with him, and his leader isn’t really – he doesn’t coach or train his team and refuses to deal with problems head-on, assuming they will just work themselves out. How do I reign this guy in and protect my team from his craziness?
In case you’re looking to make a Pink Squirrel for yourself after hearing about it, you can find the recipe over on Liquor.com.
Don’t forget about our bookclub! We’re currently reading Tribes by Seth Godin