Managing Rockstars, Prima Donnas and Mother TeresasManaging Design, Melbourne 12 May 2017

A STORY

Rockstars

Challenges

■ They can be very dismissive of the team implementing their ideas or vision, which causes friction in the team

■ As they have expended so much energy in the first phase of the project, they need to handover the project, so they can recuperate.

■ Underneath all the intellectual power can be someone who needs to be validated.

Ways to work

■ Get the Rockstar to develop relationships with the team, so they are not dismissed as not seeing the vision when they can’t keep up.

■ Give them the freedom and intellectual stimulation - they are the innovators in complex projects - ideal could be Project initiation, R&D or Innovation and Disruption

■ Pair them with someone who can take the idea to delivery.

Rockstar engagement

Prima donnas

Challenges

■ They don’t have the experience or talent to back up ALL of their ideas; they usually have strength in one particular area needed in the project

■ They build strife into their interactions with everyone. The team comes away feeling pelted with ego

■ The work may not be up to scratch; there can be an overestimation of competence

Ways to work■ Remember that a Prima Donna may be starting with a position of low

self esteem, and is compensating to feel superior■ Provide strong expectations for each piece of work and stretch goals

once they have been met; use their strengths for the good of the project

■ Ignore their behaviours if it doesn’t affect the rest of the team ■ If it does affect the team, the person needs to be talked to and warned

of the consequences of their behaviour■ Remind the individual who the customer is; their role is supporting the

customer (internal or external) ■ Work in a team made up of people with healthy egos and great skills to

balance the Prima Donna

Prima Donna engagement

Mother Teresas

Challenges

■ Lack of compassion for themselves

■ Over sharing and annoying others

■ Taking on too much work and burning out

Ways to work

■ Set boundaries for them at work with the amount of time they work on something

■ Find structured ways for them to give of themselves to others in the group

■ Teach them to be a little selfish with their time and knowledge

■ Leave them to fail (only a little), so they can learn to set their own boundaries

Mother Teresa engagement

Think about the individual

Working with a challenging individual

■ Understand the motivations of the person in front of you■ Rules of Engagement■ Goals and boundaries ■ Team planning and dependencies■ Be an active manager■ Work with your manager/coach/mentor on how the team or

individual is led and managed

Understand their motivations

Empathy, good questioning technique and listening

■ What’s happening to the person right now?

■ How does this affect work?

■ What do they want to do?

■ Why is this happening?

Rules of EngagementA collaborative team activity, but can be developed with an individual

Includes: ■ How we work together■ Work styles■ Escalation ■ Conflict resolution, and ■ Who is the ultimate decision maker

Goals and boundariesWorks with the Rules of Engagement

For each piece of work, set the expectations:■ What the person is responsible for■ What deliverables they need to create and when they are due■ Support needed to do the work■ Any dependencies ■ What don’t they do

In the project team include:■ Are they responsible for others work■ How will they work with other

Team planning and dependencies■ Provides a structure for the team when working with

challenging people

■ When it’s done negatively, it is a ‘group slap’; but positively - it provides the whole group with a set of expectations, so the one person does not feel singled out

■ If the challenging person is an equivalent or higher in the pecking order, this provides them with expectations of their role...in front of everyone

Be an active manager

Manager… a dirty word, we are all told we should all be leaders

BUT...■ Be someone who the team can talk to

■ Be an escalation point

■ Model behaviour

■ Shape how a team works

Work with your manager or mentor

■ Don’t pretend you can do this by yourself.

■ Dealing with difficult team members is hard - exhausting mentally, physically and emotionally. Get support and downtime as needed.

■ Support can come in two guises:● Peer group support - coaching through the problems with your

‘pack’● Manager/mentor - to provide guidance and your point of

escalation

Summing up

■ Rockstars, Prima Donnas and Mother Teresas are all archetypes; these traits and behaviours can turn up in all of us at different times.

■ The aim is to get the best out to people and being active managers is the best way to do this.

■ Go forth and manage!

Resources

Change, Influence and IA at the BBC, March 2004https://www.slideshare.net/magshanley/change-influence-and-ia-at-the-bbc

Beyond the Polar Bear, 2011https://www.slideshare.net/reduxd/beyond-the-polar-bear

Thank you

Contact me:Email: magshanley@gmail.com

Twitter: @magshanleyLinkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/magshanley