This is a presentation about how we need to manage people realising that we need to manage behaviours, while thinking of the whole person.

1. Managing Rockstars, Prima
Donnas and Mother Teresas
Managing Design, Melbourne 12 May 2017

2. A STORY

3. Rockstars

5. Challenges
■ They can be very dismissive of the team implementing their ideas or
vision, which causes friction in the team
■ As they have expended so much energy in the first phase of the
project, they need to handover the project, so they can recuperate.
■ Underneath all the intellectual power can be someone who needs to
be validated.

6. Ways to work
■ Get the Rockstar to develop relationships with the team, so they are
not dismissed as not seeing the vision when they can’t keep up.
■ Give them the freedom and intellectual stimulation - they are the
innovators in complex projects - ideal could be Project initiation, R&D
or Innovation and Disruption
■ Pair them with someone who can take the idea to delivery.

7. Rockstar engagement

8. Prima donnas

10. Challenges
■ They don’t have the experience or talent to back up ALL of their ideas;
they usually have strength in one particular area needed in the project
■ They build strife into their interactions with everyone. The team comes
away feeling pelted with ego
■ The work may not be up to scratch; there can be an overestimation of
competence

11. Ways to work
■ Remember that a Prima Donna may be starting with a position of low
self esteem, and is compensating to feel superior
■ Provide strong expectations for each piece of work and stretch goals
once they have been met; use their strengths for the good of the
project
■ Ignore their behaviours if it doesn’t affect the rest of the team
■ If it does affect the team, the person needs to be talked to and warned
of the consequences of their behaviour
■ Remind the individual who the customer is; their role is supporting the
customer (internal or external)
■ Work in a team made up of people with healthy egos and great skills to
balance the Prima Donna

12. Prima Donna engagement

13. Mother Teresas

15. Challenges
■ Lack of compassion for themselves
■ Over sharing and annoying others
■ Taking on too much work and burning out

16. Ways to work
■ Set boundaries for them at work with the amount of time they work on
something
■ Find structured ways for them to give of themselves to others in the
group
■ Teach them to be a little selfish with their time and knowledge
■ Leave them to fail (only a little), so they can learn to set their own
boundaries

17. Mother Teresa engagement

18. Think about the individual

19. Working with a challenging individual
■ Understand the motivations of the person in front of you
■ Rules of Engagement
■ Goals and boundaries
■ Team planning and dependencies
■ Be an active manager
■ Work with your manager/coach/mentor on how the team or
individual is led and managed

20. Understand their motivations
Empathy, good questioning technique and listening
■ What’s happening to the person right now?
■ How does this affect work?
■ What do they want to do?
■ Why is this happening?

21. Rules of Engagement
A collaborative team activity, but can be developed with an individual
Includes:
■ How we work together
■ Work styles
■ Escalation
■ Conflict resolution, and
■ Who is the ultimate decision maker

22. Goals and boundaries
Works with the Rules of Engagement
For each piece of work, set the expectations:
■ What the person is responsible for
■ What deliverables they need to create and when they are due
■ Support needed to do the work
■ Any dependencies
■ What don’t they do
In the project team include:
■ Are they responsible for others work
■ How will they work with other

23. Team planning and dependencies
■ Provides a structure for the team when working with
challenging people
■ When it’s done negatively, it is a ‘group slap’; but positively - it
provides the whole group with a set of expectations, so the
one person does not feel singled out
■ If the challenging person is an equivalent or higher in the
pecking order, this provides them with expectations of their
role...in front of everyone

24. Be an active manager
Manager… a dirty word, we are all told we should all be leaders
BUT...
■ Be someone who the team can talk to
■ Be an escalation point
■ Model behaviour
■ Shape how a team works

25. Work with your manager or mentor
■ Don’t pretend you can do this by yourself.
■ Dealing with difficult team members is hard - exhausting mentally,
physically and emotionally. Get support and downtime as needed.
■ Support can come in two guises:
● Peer group support - coaching through the problems with your
‘pack’
● Manager/mentor - to provide guidance and your point of
escalation

26. Summing up
■ Rockstars, Prima Donnas and Mother Teresas are all
archetypes; these traits and behaviours can turn up in all of us
at different times.
■ The aim is to get the best out to people and being active
managers is the best way to do this.
■ Go forth and manage!

28. Resources
Change, Influence and IA at the BBC, March 2004
https://www.slideshare.net/magshanley/change-influence-and-ia-at-the-bbc
Beyond the Polar Bear, 2011
https://www.slideshare.net/reduxd/beyond-the-polar-bear

29. Thank you
Contact me:
Email: magshanley@gmail.com
Twitter: @magshanley
Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/magshanley