Re: MAX STIER: LEADERSHIP KEY TO QUALITY WORK ENVIRONMENT
by Joe on 2005.11.19 10:57AM EST  |

Just as everyone is not intended to be a professional athlete – not everyone is intended to be a manager.

Recently I was at a function when an upper level manager made a threat
to make an item that is supposed to be voluntary an element on
everyone’s appraisal which would result in a lowering of the appraisals
if the employees did not do what he said.

Keep in mind the task referred to is supposed to be strictly voluntary and not critical to any mission whatsoever.

Ever mindful of the near absolute powers that managers will have in the
NSPS, and the extremely expedited, nearly irreversible adverse action
process that will be available to management when we are in the new
system I was concerned with the use of authority in this situation.

To be fair to the manager in question he probably has not even read the
NSPS Regulations as I have. He may not even have intended anything
other than elevating the importance of that task in our minds.

Still, the potential for harm that the enhanced management authority
has in untrained hands in the NSPS concerned me. I challenged the
comment to this manager’s superior in an email.

The superior was also at the function. He emphasized that he had an
open door policy for anyone to talk to him so I communicated via email.
I made it clear in the email that I was concerned with the comment
only, not the person, and that my concern was for the future exercise
of authority in the coming NSPS. I also added that I was concerned that
if I did not do this voluntary task that my supervisor would have to
suffer because that was also implied by the superior who made the
original comment.

Many people heard the comment. Many people were concerned. No one else was willing to risk saying anything.

The point I am making is that all this occurred in a system in which we
presently have the luxury of adequate protections against very swift
arbitrary adverse actions.

What happened?

My supervisor was very upset with me for communicating with our
superior. In the NSPS he will have the authority to reduce my pay, deny
me an annual pay increase or dismiss me for that one incident if he
were the kind of manager I was trying to guard against by making my
objection to the superior.

The superior? He was true to his word. He did not see things the way I
did, but he was open to discussion, and he tried to listen. He went
further than he was required to do by any reasonable expectation.

In this illustration we have two managers out of three who will be in
danger of exercising authority in harmful ways in the NSPS. The GAO has
stated that the DOD is just not ready to handle this magnitude of
change in the labor relations system. The managers are not ready. They
have to be trained first.

In the NSPS you will have very few people who will be willing to risk
their livelihood over a little thing like principle. The potential for
retribution is just too great.

Communication will become a one way avenue from the top down with
everyone trying to protect their jobs – too afraid to challenge the
boss about anything.

This is what happens when you design such an authoritarian system. We
have seen what has happened to other authoritarian systems.

Let’s not let it happen here.

Even in the coming NSPS - take the risk. Challenge management in a
constructive way. It can make the system better even if the initial
design is flawed.

Learn everything you can about the new system, and don't be afraid to use what you learn to make it better.