Management 101 – Wendy’s Story – #62 Dealing with Inertia
So you have just taken over the company and you need to make changes fast or the troubled business you just invested in will be completely flushed down the potty. You start down the road but there is some resistance or should we call it inertia. We all have experienced it – we all have had this issue rain on our parade. Here is a story that might help you get through it.
When I was the ripe age of 19 I was promoted to run a Wendy’s corporate store in Ohio. As I took over my new duties I was especially glad to have Aileen work the day shift with me. Aileen would probably describe herself as a fiery Irish Lass of about 50 years young. In truth she was a good worker who showed up on time, and did her job well. Aileen was also the unofficial leader of the day crew.
About the second week into my new role was when the problems started to become visible– nothing major but small things. Day shift employees would resist working until their exact clock in moment and would demand to leave for the day at their exact scheduled time to leave. It was so bad that I ended up having to schedule people in fifteen minute increments and over schedule crew members to deal with the lack of flexibility. There was nothing wrong with their behavior but in the restaurant business as in all businesses the team needs to be flexible to make the system work. Aileen would sit out in the restaurant on her break (once again nothing wrong here) and hold court with the day crew while customers were waiting in line to eat. It created understandable angst with the customers. When I confronted Aileen with the needs to be flexible and to tone down the court she indicated that she had always done these things and expected that since they were not against the official “rules” she also inferred that I was inexperienced and that I would learn. Many comments came out over the next few weeks that held the same tone. I was young and inexperienced and that I would learn how it was done and that she would train me.
As I said I was a new manager and as a new manager you can doubt your skills and abilities and so Aileen’s words hung on me. As the weeks went by and the power struggle between Aileen and I increased the tension and performance on the day shift deteriorated. She was usurping my authority. Finally on one morning she blew up and walked off the job. She said I was obviously going to fail and that the changes I was trying to make were only hurting the store etc. etc. etc. I was devastated. Within a couple of days her closest cronies quit as well. I lost 20% of the team and thought I had made a colossal screw up.
That week my boss the Area Manager came in to the store and helped me run the day shift as we were horribly understaffed. At the end of the shift he said to me – “I am glad that women finally left now you can make a positive change and build a good team.” It was true within a few weeks things were going well – actually better than before and the team bonded and was embracing the changes needed to build the business. The team had a fresh attitude did not remember the way things used to run largely because they did not have someone reminding them.
The Moral:
When you take over a company or a new leadership position – find your Aileens and help them either embrace you or find a new job and do this as a priority. You, your team, and your business will not move forward when you have team members who are resisting the change and attempting to do their job the way it had always been done. How many times do you here the story about how the company or group will never change until “_______” retires/quits/gets reorg’d.
KEY MESSAGE – Help them retire/quit or re-org !