The Ultimate Fighter

Continued…

As a Director, I shouldn't be dealing directly with reps on this level. I pay the people that own the people, to take care these issues. Yet here I was. My conversation was quick, decisive, and ended with the rep saying that she appreciated my direct feedback, and that she would think less of me if I didn't deal with her attitude.

that's all it takes...

I was disappointed with my supervisor, but it was a reality check for me. Prior to my arrival, my staff had been provided one poor leader after another and when things don't go well, you can't blame the followers. Followers do what followers do. They follow! That was the past, and was no longer a current reality. Now I was the leader and our failures were now a reflection of me.

Despite their realistic challenges with prior leadership, it was time to leave the land of excuses...

I began a series of mini-coaching workshops on how to give, provide, and receive direct honest feedback. It delighted the client, and gave me a forum to instruct my team on the basics of feedback and how to handle the more advanced, emotionally charged situations, with finesse, while maintaining authority. I walked them through specific situations that they had seen me handle on the floor, and why I handled them the way that I did. They drank in the feedback, seemed highly receptive, but I needed more. I wanted to see where the rubber meets the road.

Talk is cheap, and I wanted to confirm the practical application of what we discussed.


The Ultimate Fighter...

With that said, it's time to introduce a new character in "Call Center Grit". She was the leader of my “informal leadership group” that was discussed in the previous blog. She had a ruff masculine demeanor, who had the aggressiveness of a chained pit bull. She appeared to be one of those hardened soul's that was the product of an apparent tough life that resulted in an equally tough personality that’s prepared to give, as well as take blows. If there were a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) for women, she would be sponsored by Tap-Out, as she snapped arms, and twisted ankles.

Her hand-to-hand combat abilities have actually been demonstrated with another rep during an all-out fight on the call-floor. The highly tuned negotiation skills of the former SD (Site Director) were used to break up the fight, and resolve the conflict with prescriptions of nicotine, and fresh air. No terms, no suspensions, not even a write up.... (It's truly great to watch a master a work....)

She would be a great test for my supervisors and their new skills...