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Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985  Your post made me smile. This is what happened to me. I was an outside hire, and took over for someone else that wanted this position. The people I work with bluntly told me how much they resented how things went down and already hated me before meeting me. |
You just reminded me of another incident. I have been a "utility" person here for many years - long story - and when management wanted to promote a very talented person with limited management experience to be a director in a new department, the only way they would do it was if I went along as associate director. I most definitely did not want the job, but a) I wanted to see the person succeed, and b) I wasn't given a choice, so I took the job. I had only four people reporting directly to me, and the day the promotion was announced, one of them (who I had thought was a good friend) sought me out on the street and informed me that I was not qualified to be her boss. Talk about shock! I just told her that I was sorry that she felt that way, but that since we didn't have any choice, we would have to make the best of it, and that I would do my utmost to help her be ready when the next opportunity came around. Well, you can guess how that went over. She spent the next two years going behind my back, refusing to follow instructions, and trying to cause rebellion with the other three direct reports.
Have you seen "If a Man Answers" with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin? Sandra's mother gives her a book on dog training and tells her to use it on her husband. Well.... I tried the same technique on my staff. If anyone did something remotely well, I praised the heck out of them. And if they did something out of line, I privately and quietly corrected it, but in public gave only positive feedback. After a few months, they realized I was actually on their side, and I won the loyalty of all but the one who originally confronted me. I knew I had won when I heard the three of them telling Miss Trouble off in no uncertain terms.
Do any of these people report to you? Or are they all on your level? You have to be careful about using the dog training technique on people at your level but there are ways to do it subtly that could help you.