Turning A Bad Business Relationship Around.
55This is not an easy thing to deal with for several reasons. Before going on, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions.
- How important is the job?
- How important is it that I turn this around?
Your options are defined more or less by the answers to the above. Think about them as we go through the rest of this hub.
For the moment, I am going to assume that you really want to turn things around. Understand that this might not work in your current predicament. But, it has at least as good a chance as anything else.
- First, take a little time to discover where the other individuals strengths lie.
- See where they overlap with your duties or projects.
- Ask her to serve on a committee with you. I know that this sounds counter-intuitive, but bear with me.
- Actively solicit her input, especially when the topic resides in her area of expertise.
- Take her advise at least as often as you do not.
- Get her to beta-test something and listen to her report.
The easiest way to turn a rival into a friend, or at worst a supporter, is to ask them to do you a favor. There are good and sound psychological reasons behind this. For one thing, if your opinion of her is high enough that you would actually ask her to help you, then your judgements can not be that flawed. Right? Right. But, for goodness sake, document everything.
Now. What if that does not work and she continues harassing you and seeking to undermine you? Ouch. At that point, if you have documented your attempts to get her to play on the team, take it to upper management. Be willing to press your case. While this may truly upset the apple cart, if you have done your best and can prove it with the notes that you have taken, you should not see much fall out. This, of course, depends on the specifics of your situation.
Be careful and good luck.
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Comments
Absolutely, Caryl. It is good to remember that this kind of person has no power unless we grant it to them. To be successful in business, we must always do our best and stay in communication with our 'higher ups' to be certain that our assumptions about what the job entails matches theirs. If those we answer to are pleased with the quality and quantity of our work, those who seek to undermine us have very little to work with. Thank you for reminding me that there is more to this than initially meets the eye.
working
Caryl Oliver says:
7 months ago
Some good advice from someone who is considerably more tolerant than I am!
Reading between the lines of the request I wonder if there is not a bit of insecurity from the requester that is making them worry about someone like this?
I agree about documenting any inter-action but I would also try and rise above it a bit if I am confident that I am doing a good job and that I am appreciated. It is tough to deal with being undermined but if you worry about these people then they have made their first success in their campaign.
Be strong and proud and cover your backside!