A632.7.4.RB - Collaborative Decision-Making

Reflect on the role of collaboration and getting to resolution in the process of decision-making. Rarely, if ever, do our decisions affect only ourselves. Consider the importance of getting other stakeholders involved; how can they help you make a better decision for all? Detail a specific situation where you are faced with the decision, describe the process you went through and the outcome you were seeking. Identify 5 ways stakeholder involvement can help you make better decisions. Did you achieve your objective? Looking back at the decision you made and its consequence, was there anyone else that would have added value to the process? Identify 3 ways you may use this learning experience to make better decisions in the future?

In our class discussion, one of our class members said that in approaching the situation, it is better to be a neutral party. At a past job, I was passed with the duty to head hour recruitment process for next year's staff. At the time we had about 14 staff members, 4 which we were sure we're not returning for another year. This was either due to disinterest or graduation, as it was a student position. I was very excited to begin the search for new staff, as we had had problems over the past few months with staff members who were not performing up to par. Some of them were leaving by choice, but I was sure there were a few whose supervisors were dissatisfied with their work. Working with the supervisors, a few names were discussed in which replacements would possibly be needed. With my supervisor, I devised a plan recruit a diverse candidate pool which included moving away from the characteristics of the student employees which we have historically had trouble with putting on schedule and working special events, due to their participation in extracurricular events and desire to participate in continuously held social activities. We found out this information through step 2 of 7 of Levine's cycle resolution, allowing staff members to tell their story. What I heard from them were stories for staff members switching shifts to go to parties and participate in non-constructive social activities. Social media posts showed that while supervisors were being told that supervisees were leaving town to go to conferences and workshops, the workers were elsewhere.

I originally thought that the only stakeholders involved in the situation were four coworkers which also served as supervisors of the potential staff we were searching to hire, and my supervisor. My supervisor and I were very much on the same page as far as recruiting more diverse candidates. It seemed as if our staff was becoming a clique of people from the same background, with the same interests, and some of the supervisory staff played into this dynamic. Those who did not participated in these interests were deemed an outgroup, and were usually those who ended up covering shifts and working more overall than the majority. At first, it seemed that these staff members who were the most hardworking were fine with continuously helping their fellow staff members. In hindsight, I believe they thought they were simply leading the team. As the treatment continued, however, the staff members started to feel as if they were being taken advantage of. Suddenly they realize that those who were always switching schedule placements with them were not for filling their portion of the deal. I felt for these employees, particularly as the past college student who always seemed to carry my team;s projects. I had become accustomed to the situation and came to realize, as Smith states in her article on  'the lazy employee', “by pointing out that it’s not fair, we just make ourselves feel bad and the situation doesn’t change” (Smith, 2013). With one employee, she had switched so many shifts from the current semester to the next, when she quit, she had only worked half of the shifts she was required to, and two other workers were now responsible for about 25% more shifts than the other employees. Alas, they still tried to tune them out and focus on their work (Smith, 2013).

Only through listening to my coworkers who were in this clique did I realize this mentality throughout the staff, which could only be erased through new hires. This refers to Levine's step 1 of 7 in the cycle resolution, developing the attitude of resolution (Levine, 2009). Because of the history behind the formation of this group, my supervisor and I realized that we would not want to recruit anyone who personally knew any of our current employees, as this is how the current staff came to be. Many of our staff members were good friends at their college, and had passed the word around that our institution was an "easy place to work," a secondary responsibility, and that there would always be others to fill in the shortcomings of the underperformed. These statements were in direct conflict with the desires of our department institution, as I pointed out to my co-workers (Chambers, 1998). It was our duty, then, to keep our best employees and add to them. As a classmate quoted in our discussion, “the content of each side’s story is the crucible that holds the potential for a solution honoring the concerns of all parties” (Levine, 2009). As a leader, I needed to find the most efficient way to resolve our conflict.

I had a vision of what was taking place presently and how it was affecting the people we serve. As Levine states, it is important to clarify revision before I moved forward with what needed to be adjusted and what was missing (Levine, 2009). The sheer nepotism was disturbing to our employees who were dedicated to the position and who were being taken advantage of. In considering these employees as stakeholders, I changed my guidelines of not hiring those suggested by our supervisees; I believed that our highest performing staff members would be able to attract high performing staff members. They would also be able to tell us who, from their experiences, would only add to our staff situation (Smith, 2013). In figuring out what was missing, which was the high-performing staff, I was able to put myself, my supervisor, and (some of) our staff members on the same path to success.


References

Chambers, H. E. (1998). Conflict resolution. Executive Excellence, 15(10), 6. Retrieved from      

   http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/204633448?accountid=27203Levine, S. (2009). Getting to resolution: Turning conflict into collaboration. San Francisco, CA:
   Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Smith, Jacqueline. (2013). 12 Tips For Dealing With A Lazy Co-Worker.
   Accessed at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/08/01/12-tips-for-dealing-with-a-lazy-co-worker/