Interview Story - Handled a Conflict

On my first day on the job at an inner-city hospital, I called a staff meeting and I was told by staff that they did not meet with management unless security guards were present. I asked them why and told them that if this was the case, then I was definitely in the wrong place. They could only say that management had treated them badly, but could not provide specifics.

I decided this had to change so that our staff felt satisfied and comfortable in their work and with me as their manager.

I held my first staff meeting – with no security guards. I asked the group to brainstorm and tell me what was wrong. They gave me a long list of things that they believed were wrong. The list was quite extensive. To make it more manageable, I guided them through sorting and prioritizing the list via multi-voting. At the top of the list was the “dress code”. I knew that was not the real issue. I told this group that we were going to work on making things better.

We created staff teams to address the main issues, with each team focused on a different problem. Over 6 months, I guided the teams and empowered them to make decisions that impacted their work and department. I would explain any essential requirements from the hospital management, and suggest options based on my experience with these departments. Beyond these guidelines, the decisions were up to them.

About six to eight months into my employment, I was asked to see the Vice-President of Human Resources. We sat down in his office. He said that there was a problem. Surprised, I asked him what the problem was. He said that there were no recent complaints from that department and that in the past, they were always addressing issues with this department.

I explained the process which we were using, and asked him how they could complain if the decisions they were making were their own? He said that he did not realize that and that I should keep doing whatever it was I was doing. Shortly thereafter, I was given a big promotion.