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Timid Tim
The personTim works in the brand team. He is efficient and gets things done. As a result, he is often asked to co-ordinate research or analysis procedures. He is bright, produces good briefs, and is great to work with because he provides input when needed and is a good team player. However, Tim likes to give good service and hates to disappoint. He is therefore very averse to conflict.
The problem
If the research or analysis results paint a picture that may cause problems for those around and above him, Tim tends to disassociate himself from the work. At worst, he may even try to ‘bury’ the results or get them changed so that they are more palatable. Tim is actually like most of us, only worse. Few people like conflict, and all of us like to be seen in a good light. He just takes it to an extreme.
The solution
The key to handling Tim is to recognise the issues; to appeal to his key values; and - whatever message he is bringing - to try and provide him with help that ensures that as the messenger, he is still seen in a favourable light.
Someone like Tim is likely to be either an Implementer or a Completer/Finisher in Belbin’s classification of team roles (try ‘Belbin’ on Google if you are unfamiliar with these). As such, he will probably be very loyal to the organisation, and always keen to support his employer. So, even if some short term results may be unwelcome to those around him, he may accept that it is for the good of the organisation that they take those results on board and act upon them – despite their own agendas and even if it might provoke conflict. You can appeal to this key value.
At the same time, you need to help him to feel and look good about delivering the messages. There is a three-fold solution:
- Preparation – In a presentation that has unwelcome messages, signal at an early stage that there is something negative – but do so in a positive way. For example, say: “In this research, one of our fears was that although X is a great idea, it might not prove popular to our customers. So we wanted to make sure that whatever the results, we could develop a positive action plan.” This alerts people to the idea of a negative message, but says in effect, “Don’t worry – it will have a happy ending.”
- Positive spin – Even when something has not worked or has been poorly received, the key is to ensure that there is no suggestion of blame or failure on the part of anyone in the audience. Phrases such as: “Clearly, this idea had a lot going for it, but what we hadn’t expected was…” (i.e. “a good try even though it failed!”). Alternatively, spread the responsibility by saying: “This was something we all agreed with, but unfortunately our customers didn’t see it in the same light”.
- Constructive recommendations – Lastly, always try to end constructively. If you say: “That’s the bad news – now it’s up to you to deal with it,” you are never going to be popular! But if you make some key suggestions, such as: “So whilst it’s clear that we have to scrap this approach, this means that we can now consider approaches A, B, or C.” This will set people off in a new and positive direction.
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