A military officer must pass her work through a foreign national coworker whose lack of respect and bias is affecting her role. How can she get unstuck?
THE ISSUE
A military officer is confronted with perceived lack of respect by her foreign national coworker.
‘Captain Carson’ is a high-performing military officer who takes pride in her work. As a proficient linguist, she is counted on daily to translate military documents that potentially contain pertinent information that could ultimately protect her country. She also believes very firmly that her reputation is a result of her undaunting work ethic. For that reason, she prefers to work alone and finds it difficult to count on others to accomplish tasks. However, as protocol dictates, because Captain Carson is not a native speaker, she must route her work through her foreign counterpart for quality control. Her counterpart is a conscript straight out of high school who is in the military only to fulfill his compulsory duty. To Captain Carson’s dismay, and even though she is his ranking senior, her counterpart rarely communicates with her and simply publishes the documents, with significant edits. She finds this to be extremely frustrating and insubordinate. Captain Carson is convinced that her counterpart doesn’t take his job seriously, shows no respect for her rank, and is biased because she is a non-native speaker, and a female.
How would you help Captain Carson to get unstuck?
- This issue’s Troubleshooter has been curated by Veronica Munro, international C suite executive coach, performance facilitator and author
THE INTERVENTIONS
Melissa Pagar
Department of Defense coaching programme manager
This is a nuanced situation that requires Captain Carson to self-reflect to get unstuck.
- First, I would ask about her values:
– You mentioned taking pride in your work, that your reputation is a result of your work ethic, and that you prefer to work alone. Which values are behind that?
– How are your values forming and informing your decisions?
– How are your values showing up at work?
- Second, I would ask about the assumptions that she may be making:
– You mentioned your counterpart is in the military only to fulfill his obligation, and has no respect for your rank, the fact you’re a non-native speaker, and are female.
- How might these be assumptions:
– What can you do to prove/disprove them?
- Next, I’d move on to the conflict itself:
– What is the conflict here?
– What triggers you?
– How do you trigger your counterpart?
– What would happen if you removed that trigger for your counterpart?
- Then, I’d ask about communication, specifically intercultural:
– When is the last time you sat down to chat, just to get to know your counterpart?
– What might your counterpart bring to the table that is different from your culture?
– How could that difference possibly impede your communication?
– What can you do to mitigate any impediments to your communication?
- Finally, I’d work with her on how it might be if the situation were reframed:
- Ultimately, what do you want?
- What would an ideal scenario look like?
- What steps can you take to get closer to ideal?
- How will you apply your plan?
Alain Mukendi
Department of the US Air Force internal coach
As Captain Carson’s coach, I believe addressing her feelings of frustration and perceived disrespect is crucial for improving collaboration and team effectiveness.
First, it’s important to validate Captain Carson’s emotions and acknowledge the difficulty she’s experiencing. I’d start by expressing empathy, making it clear her feelings are valid and understandable given the circumstances.
Next, I’d encourage her to consider alternative perspectives and help her explore the possibility that her counterpart’s behaviour may not be intentional disrespect, but rather a lack of understanding or awareness. This approach aims to encourage Captain Carson to perceive the situation with a more open mind, fostering empathy for her counterpart’s unique circumstances.
I’d guide her to initiate a constructive, open dialogue with her counterpart. For example, she could express her concerns calmly, emphasizing her commitment to the team’s cohesion and success.
I’d encourage her to develop strategies to build a positive working relationship with her counterpart. This may involve finding common ground, understanding each other’s strengths, and establishing clear communication channels. Encourage her to focus on the shared goal of producing high-quality translated documents for the benefit of the military.
Lastly, I’d work with her to develop her leadership skills in adapting to diverse working styles. I’d help her understand and realize value of effective communication across cultural differences and the importance of building a collaborative team environment. I’d emphasize the value of leveraging each team member’s strengths to achieve common objectives. Through this coaching process, Captain Carson can gain new insights, improve communication with her counterpart, and contribute to a more harmonious and productive work environment.