The Manager Self Test – are you abrasive?

In late March I introduced you to the Boss Whisperer aka Laura Crawshaw and her thinking about different types of managers. In my work with faculty and staff at NC State, the majority of the issues focus on evaluative relationships – meaning, people bring concerns about their direct report. In many ways, this is not surprising as people bring different approaches to their role as managers, there is often change that takes time to rebuild trust and confidence and then there are times when the manager uses a style that is perceived as counter productive. That’s the polite way of stating what some folks call being a “bully” in the workplace

Part of the conversation I have with visitors to the ombuds office is whether we can shift this conversation to Crawshaw’s idea of a manager with “abrasive” behaviors. This idea of abrasive as opposed to bully comes from the work of Laura Crawshaw, author of “Taming the Abrasive Manager: How to End Unnecessary Roughness in the Workplace”  and who runs the Boss Whispering Institute. Crawshaw offered a powerful talk at last year’s IOA Conference as I’ve previously noted and here’s her Self Test for you to determine – Are you an Abrasive Manager?

Crawshaw also provides some recommendations for what to do if your score is not where you’d like it to be and there are many resources available at NC State to support, coach and train managers. You can also come talk to the ombuds without fear of judgment since the office is set up to be neutral and impartial, it does not judge; instead, it seeks to empower people to move in a direction that they determine.

Not sure where to turn for help?    Go Ombuds !