Control Issues Is one of your employees building an empire right under your nose?
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Last year, the management team of a small technology firm wastrying to understand why projects were coming in late and overbudget. The company hired Leslie Kossoff, owner of KossoffManagement Consulting in San Mateo, California, to find theproblem. All roads led her to the firm's lead softwaredesigner. Only he knew the foundation code for the company'ssoftware programs. Even worse, he refused to share it with otherdesigners. His secrecy was a huge drain on productivity.
"Designers were always waiting for him. They could readonly aspects of his code and didn't know if their work would becompatible," Kossoff says.
Once management understood the situation, the other designersfelt empowered to crack the code. Once they did, the lead designerleft the firm. "He didn't have his power baseanymore," Kossoff says. "His way of having control wasthrough this foundation code. He built his empire thisway."
This software designer was a classic "empire-builder,"someone who tries to become indispensable by gaining exclusivecontrol over a piece of knowledge, a project, even a wholedepartment. For the empire-builder, being the one in the know isthe key to job security. But this person will eventually hold yourcompany hostage. "CEOs rationalize this and make excuses forit, but it will get to the point that they no longer can becauseproductivity drops," says Bob Turknett, president of TurknettLeadership Group, an executive and team leadership consulting firmin Atlanta.
Drawing the Line
All employees want to be considered indispensable, and thatmind-set can motivate them to work harder. But when their desirefor control spins out of control, you've got a problem.
Chris Dyson, 31, founder and president of Nashua, NewHampshire-based mobile advertising company Ads on Wheels,experienced such a problem. Six months after hiring a fewtechnology consultants to develop the company's Web site andproprietary technology, Dyson realized he didn't know what theywere doing, and they weren't telling him.
He forced himself into the loop by talking to his tech employeesabout what they were up to and reading up on the technology. Healso started cross-training employees so no single worker wasirreplaceable. "You don't want to lose control of anyfacet of your company," he says. "You have toreact." Today, he has 30 employees and annual sales of about$1 million.
Burning Down the Empire
If you find an empire-builder in your midst, you must actfast:
1. Don't assume everyone is a teamplayer just because your organizational chart reflectsteamwork.
While your organizational chart is flat and most employees areassumed to have equal power and rank, the empire-builder is busybuilding a hierarchy. What results is a "shadowbureaucracy" that management doesn't see.
"For empire-builders, the thinking process is always there.'How do I consolidate my power?' Even when they pretend tobe working as a team, these are not team players," Kossoffsays. "If there's no hierarchy put in place by management,the employees will create it for you."
2. Look for systems that don't makesense.
If you have 10 employees on a project that consistently lagsbehind, or employees are hinting that they can't finish theirwork without a particular employee's help, you have a problem.Ask employees where their projects are held up. They may point youin the direction of one individual. In fact, Turknett says,frustrated subordinates usually blow the whistle onempire-builders.
3. Don't ignore thesituation.
Confront the empire-builder and talk about his or her impact on thecompany. Require that he or she share knowledge and cross-trainother workers. Other techniques, including 360-degree feedback andprofessional counseling, can also break empire-building habits andforce employees to share. "Let the person see it in spades.Put it on the table and keep it on the table until it'sresolved," Turknett says. "Otherwise, you're enablingit."
