206consequences for absenteeism should be reviewed. If
absenteeism is widespread, consequences apparently
aren’t strong enough.- Avoiding contact and/or conversation
When one of your team members starts avoiding you, the
reasons can be many. Among them might be the
following:- General unease in the presence of authority.
- Performance anxiety — fear of communicating in a
way that isn’t “good” or adequate. - Fear of being asked to do something.
- Dread of being asked what she has done about a
specific task. - Guilt over real or imagined poor performance.
The remedy for all these has its roots in coach “contact”
— constant, consistent contact. The more time you spend
with team members, the more you’re viewed as being
genuinely interested in promoting individual success —
and the fewer the negative incidents will be. As you
become human and accessible, your team will become
open and free of distrust.
When the entire team seems to avoid you, however, the
probable causes can be quite different. - A problem exists and your anticipated solution is not
what they want to hear. - A decision, assignment, attitude or action of yours
(real or rumored) has communicated an
anti-team message. - An unpopular procedure or policy “from the top” has
made you guilty by association.
You can respond to these situations in one of three
basic ways including:
- Do nothing — wait until someone shares the problem,
then address it. This approach works best when you
are virtually positive the problem involves something
you can’t change, such as a companywide policy
Coaching, Mentoring and Managing6
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