It only takes one toxic manager to make your life hell. To minimize their impact, we need to change the work culture. Our goal is to build a safe space in a collaborative work environment. A good Scrum Master embraces the principles of servant leadership.
Author: Mark Haynes, https://dmarkhaynesconsulting.godaddysites.com/
That is easier said than done. How do you build that little acre of paradise when management can destroy it through indirect messaging or willfully creating a hostile working environment? To help your team you must first survive. In the meantime, you need a thick skin and effective countermeasures.
It’s vital to identify the players and their modus operandi. If you want to play in their sandbox, you must be smarter than they are. We aren’t discussing those who don’t fully live up to being a servant leader or have picked up a few “Nasty Little Hobbits”. This isn’t about a few anti-patterns.
I’ve presented four generic strategies. The tactics deployed are scenario-based and will change if you are senior management, a Scrum Master, or a team member.
One: Hide and try not to be noticed. This is the typical default that eventually fails. Is your boss or the reigning clique going victim-shopping? Guess what, you are probably next. You might survive long enough to post out. Fly your white flag of surrender with pride.
Two: Become their minion. Help bully those targeted. Become the boss’s snitch, and provide valuable intel on fellow team members. This works, if you’re willing to sacrifice your reputation for your next promotion. Remember, there can be only one. Hint: that will be your boss. How are those self-esteem issues you have been having lately?
Three: Be strong. Your goal is to survive and support your team. With a defensive posture, you accept the attack, parry with a counter, trying not to take a severe hit. Most Scrum Masters don’t see themselves as political players, who are clawing their way up the food chain, so this may be the approach you wish to consider.
Four: Attack and become a player. Sacrifice the principles of servant leadership as expediency demands. Read “The Prince” by Machiavelli. The finer points I will leave to others. Get a set of big-boy teeth, because you just become a shark.
The Players
The Pit Bull
Status: Management
Guiding Principle: Fear will keep the team motivated.
Mantra: I am the hammer. You are the nail. Problem solved.
Examples: Leona Helmsley, Ghengis Khan
Quote: “Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.” – General Tagge, Star Wars:
Methods:
- Fear is an excellent motivational tool, apply it early and often.
- Target specific people as a warning to the team.
- Work is a battlefield, always attack, never defend.
The Pit Bull’s management style is to be a bully. They don’t want your respect. They feed on your fear. The status meeting is an opportunity to target individuals and terrorize them. The goal is to dominate the team en masse and demonstrate they are the Supreme Commander. The assumption is the rest of the team will naturally fall in line.
Take Away
It violates every principle of servant leadership. So why does it still exist? Bullies are very effective at terrorizing a team into achieving their goals. Especially, if the team sees themselves as fungible resources with limited options. Of course, those are no longer the team’s goal. Fear is a short-term solution. It requires continuous reinforcement. Management can no longer say, “Off with their heads,” send you to the Bastille or use torture.
They need to inflict trauma the hard way, psychologically. Your strength is your resolve. Better yet, use your feet. If they cross the line, pursue administrative or legal options. Document every incident and control the narrative. You can try to understand their motivations to gain insight, but to what avail? Does their fear inspire them, or do they like inspiring fear? This is warfare by other means. You are not going to change them. Consider your strategy and counter by putting them on the defensive.
The Snake aka The Snitch
Status: Team Lead
Guiding Principle: I’ll be your friend until I end you.
Mantra: I cast my skin, now it’s a whole new person biting you.
Examples: Alcibiades, Petyr Baelish
Quote: “Always keep your foes confused, if they don’t know who you are, what you want, they can’t know what you plan to do next.” – Petyr Baelish, Game of Thrones, Season 4, Episode 4.
Methods:
- Lying is an art form. Practice makes perfect.
- Listen carefully, twist their words, and repeat to the boss.
- Your motivations and actions are opaque when acting through a third person.
The Snake is the consummate courtier. They know every corridor and backroom of your organization. They can hide in every nook & cranny, biding their time. They are attentive listeners and highly trained in deception and the backstab. They are opportunity feeders.
The Snake feeds on your distress and will become your best buddy. It’s an opportunity to dig up more dirt. Insincere flattery will always be their best option and works about 90% of the time. Sabotage will work for the other 10%.
The Snake and the Pitbull are natural allies and seek each other out. The Pitbull needs minions. The Snake needs overwatch protection. It’s a marriage made in, not heaven.
Take Away
Snakes may be a Scrum Master or even an Agile Coach. They are very good at talking about servant leadership. You will know them by their actions, because they don’t walk the walk very well. They are not your friend. For them, gossip serves a purpose. It provides intel. Be cautious of people who are always inquiring about personal information. Never share experiences of a romantic nature or comment on anything repeatable to the boss, submitted to Human Resources, or used at a board of review. Be careful with your language, and avoid “He said/She said” arguments. Don’t admit to weakness or stray from organizational policies. If you are a Scrum Master always touch back on the positive attributes of being a servant leader. Don’t provide them with ammunition.
Exercise One
Scenario: The Ambush
You’re invited to meet The Pitbull and The Snake. Maybe they are your Manager, Scrum Master, or Product Owner. It’s in a small, windowless, remote room. A few minions may be present, mostly to act as the chorus. You’re wrong if you think there are allies present. They’ve been turned. You’re alone and cut off from any support. Questions are phrased to engage in an open dialog. You are constantly interrupted. Beware. This isn’t a conversation. It’s an interrogation. Information provided, weasel words used, and your motivations will all be twisted until you admit to the crimes prepared for you. Have no doubt, this is a tribunal. Your fate was sealed before you entered the room.
Tactical Response:
One: Hide This won’t work in an ambush. Take your beating and enjoy your next performance appraisal.
Two: Become their stooge. Make a convincing pitch as to why your work buddy is to blame. Maybe that’s what they’re looking for. Who else can you throw under the bus? This might work but most likely it’s you who was targeted.
Three: Be strong. Your goal is to survive. When being interrogated, you have one, maybe two opportunities to respond. Choose your words well:
- Never pontificate. Keep your answers short.
- Don’t obscure the issue. Don’t let them sidetrack you. Stay on point.
- Don’t blame others, and never lie.
Watch a few hit-piece interviews to get a feel for it. Keep in mind that subtle, or nuanced responses will not work. Avoid complex explanations and cultural or literary references. It will be lost or misconstrued and twisted to their benefit. Later, you will have a strong case of PTSD, but then your stress-health issues are not their concern. They have a lot of practice at this hit-and-run stuff. You probably don’t. What’s your exit strategy?
The Angry Mommy/Daddy
Status: Manager
Guiding Principle: They are just children, beat them regularly, whether they need it or not.
Mantra: Have you lectured your team today?
Examples: Irma Edelson (alien teacher, MIB)
Quote: “Harcourt Fenton Mudd, where have you been? What have you been up to? Have you been drinking again, you miserable sot! You good-for-nothing.” Stella, Star Trek, Season 2, Episode 8, I, Mud
Methods:
- When in doubt become passive-aggressive.
- Justify your manipulative, deceitful, or biased behavior as good for them.
- Have you picked your favorite child yet?
Their management style is that of the angry schoolmarm. It’s like raising children; rebellious, disobedient, obnoxious, and bound for reformatory children. These little barbarians seek discipline. You may have to manipulate them or badger them into submission. Like children, they haven’t developed higher cognitive or judgment skills. Patronizing your team will garner their respect.
Take away:
They may show positive servant leadership traits and be an effective leader. The question is to whom? If 20% of employees do 80% of the work (Pareto Principle) then identify those and reward them. That will be your favorites, the golden ones, and their associated clique. Hiding generally works. However, you and your team will be constantly patronized and criticized. So, swallow your pride and don’t offend the golden-children.
Guess where all this criticism is coming from? Becoming the golden one is your best bet. You and your team will gain recognition and choice assignments. You may also be in first place for available awards. Think twice about associating with those out of favor. That leaves hanging tough. If your manager is effective and not violating corporate policy there is not much you can do. Especially, if they implemented a rigid cast system to back them up. As a team member, focus on developing mission-critical skills. You want your expertise to be recognized. Become the go-to guy. For the Scrum Master, sing your team’s praises and demonstrate their achievements – stress, how they consistently meet objectives and deliverables. You will have to learn how to take a punch or two. They are probably a stickler for the rules, so try not to break any.
Exercise Two
Scenario: The wild goose chase.
You ask your Product Owner, or Scrum Master, The Snake, to provide information necessary for the current task. They send you on a wild goose chase in search of nebulous information. You spend days searching for the information and report back, or you ignore the quest entirely. Only to be rebuked for lack of action or missing your deadline. Your Manager, with the Snake, goes into “Inquisitor Mode”.
Tactical Response:
Suppose you have decided against option one, accepting the rebuke at your performance review or two, finding a way to blame it on a co-worker. You have selected door number three, hang-tough. Are you, Alice in Wonderland, that you can afford to go down rabbit holes? Push back. What benefit does it have for your task? Are you being asked to do another job? In writing, have them clarify your new priorities and delivery date. Bring the memo to the inquiry and indicate the Snake changed your priorities. Sit back and watch the fireworks.
No castle in the sky
Toxic management costs an estimated $223 billion over five years, according to an SHRM report on workplace culture. If servant leadership is a better approach, why are there so many toxic managers? Maybe, because they are good at it. Your options in dysfunctional organizations are not good. If your management is abandoning Agile or has implemented draconian measures, your best option may be to leave. Living under that much stress is soul-crushing.
You are poorly served by the advice “Bullies are cowards, just stand up to them”. They aren’t cowards. They are predators. For them, this isn’t about right vs. wrong. It’s about risk vs. rewards. Choose your battles well. The forces of chaos and political players are well-practiced.
References:
Indeed Editorial Team, (July 19, 2024), What is Servant Leadership? (With Examples)
Staff writer, SHRM, (2019, September 19), SHRM Reports Toxic Workplace Cultures Cost Billions
School of Hard Knocks
Watching Scrum Masters Crash & Burn
About the Author
I am a renaissance man trapped in a specialist’s body. I started as a biologist and that’s why I became an IT guy. I love science, but it doesn’t pay the bills. I have been an IT professional for many years. I used to be a software developer with an elegant language for a more civilized age. I became a Quality Assurance guy because it’s better to give than receive. I have been a process improvement specialist because it’s easier to negotiate with a terrorist than a Methodologist. But lately, I’ve been working as a Scrum Master and Agile Coach. I have drunk the Kool-Aid and it tastes good. Agile is a philosophy, not a methodology. In interviews, people often ask how long you’ve been Agile. My answer is always. I just didn’t know what it was called before.
Leave a Reply