Hidden Agendas

One of the most frustrating things for leaders is the seemingly inevitable and dreaded hidden agenda.  The agenda itself can even be good, but the fact that it’s hidden means it begins in deceit, and/or manipulation.  Leaders can have hidden agendas too, so let’s make sure we understand that no one escapes the temptation of this beast.

Typically it begins with an unannounced, last minute, unplanned meeting.  Manipulative people love to catch other people off guard especially when they want something.  The element of surprise is a significant part of the equation.  For example:  Bob is a bank branch manager who has just returned from a week of corporate meetings in Atlanta.  It’s late on a Friday afternoon and he just got back in the office on Thursday.  A teller, Jane catches Bob after lunch and says, “Bob, I need to meet with you this afternoon regarding week-ending deposit figures.”

It’s already their late day to work and Bob has an after work commitment to catch the second half of his 4-year olds Tee-ball game.  He believes he can make it if he leaves within a half hour of closing time.  Jane adds, “It won’t take long, but I really do need 5 minutes of your time.”  Already buried under catch-up paperwork, but feeling guilty about being gone all week, Bob sighs and agrees to accommodate Jane’s request.  Despite second thoughts, Bob relents and reasons that the week ending deposit sheets are worthy of a last minute meeting.

It’s well after 6:00 p.m. and the last customer has left the drive-through as Bob and Jane sit down in his office.  Bob is still trying to dig out from a desk full of paperwork for the home office.  Jane holds the week ending deposit sheets, but after beginning the conversation with some idle chitchat she begins to talk about another teller. And it’s not good.  She begins as one who is “concerned,” but pretty soon it’s obvious that she has personality issues with the other teller.  Her comments are anything but constructive.  Hello!  The hidden agenda has just been unloaded.  No warning, no heads up, and no time to think things through.  It's a surprise attack, but everything about this conversation is intentional by design, at least as far as Jane is concerned.   Bob is a good leader and branch manager.  However, at the end of a long week this was unexpected.  After Jane’s full-fledge assault on the teller Bob discovers that she has not even approached the other teller to discuss her concerns.  And when he suggests a face-to-face meeting, Jane quickly notes that she was really expecting him to handle the matter.  Unfortunately Jane is unwilling to contribute to any of Bob’s suggestions for dealing with the problem short of terminating the other teller.  Bob notes the hour and realizes it’s too late to catch the second half of his child’s ballgame. 

Jane has made a huge strategic mistake.  She not only showed a complete lack of respect for her bosses time and schedule, but she misrepresented (okay flat out deceived) what she wanted to meet with him about.  What Jane doesn’t realize is that the rest of the tellers have already communicated this pattern of behavior to Bob.  And in recent months several customers have made a point to comment to Bob about her apparent disdain and negative attitude toward the teller in question. BUSTED! 

And Jane doesn’t even have a clue!  She is ignorant to the fact that she has alienated just about everyone who would listen to her.  “Doesn’t play well with others,” has become the byline of her employee photo.  Jane is largely to blame for her eventual undoing and unemployment, but if patterns hold she will move onto the next job while blaming every one around her.  She will simply transfer her baggage to a new job.  It will never occur to her that she is largely responsible for her situation.  She has alienated everyone.  Enabling friends and family will just shake their heads and ignore her default pattern of behavior as they take the path of least resistance. 

Lesson for Bob:  Don’t let people manipulate your schedule.  Honor your commitments.  Ask people to be more specific about requests for spontaneous meetings and hold them to the topic at hand.  

Lesson for Jane: Be honest!  Respect the time of others and quit thinking solely about yourself.  You misrepresented yourself to your boss and took advantage of his time.  Seek constructive criticism and use it as an opportunity to grow.  Encourage friends and family members to really be honest with you.  Apologize to your co-workers for being divisive and petty.