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January 1, 2012

Workplace Drama: How to Define It and Identify It

By Marlene Chism

The Three Components of Drama

Now let's look at how all three components of drama—lack of clarity, relationship, and resistance—show up in the following example.

You scheduled an employee meeting only to get derailed by the drama queen, who is the spokesperson for the dissatisfaction regarding the recent firing of a colleague. The lack of clarity is failure to set expectations and take charge of the meeting. The one with clarity navigates the ship, and apparently, the drama queen is clearer about getting her voice heard.

The relationship issue may be your own relationship with presenting in public, or you may have a personal relationship issue with the drama queen causing the ruckus.

It's obvious what kind of resistance is coming from the drama queen. She resists your authority and is willing to disrupt the meeting to display her resistance to your authority.
 
However, as leaders, we often don't understand our own resistance. For example, perhaps you resist having a difficult conversation with her before the meeting. Perhaps you resist enforcing your expectations if someone disrupts the meeting because you don't quite have the soft skills to do so in a confident and neutral manner.
 
If you want to unravel drama at the core, you have to first become aware of any obstacle that threatens your peace of mind, or anything that stands in the way of your corporate goals and mission. The most difficult part of this is to learn how to become emotionally aware. When you feel irritated, anger, frustration, or dread, that is your signal that drama is brewing. Pay attention to your level of "discontent." The more aware you are, the easier it is to identify the potential drama brewing.

The second thing you want to do is ask these questions:

• Where is there a lack of clarity?
• What is the relationship issue?
• Where is the resistance, and who is resisting what?

Even if you can only answer one question, you start the unraveling process. Once you gain clarity, you can change any situation, no matter how difficult the drama.

—Marlene Chism is a professional speaker, trainer, and the author of Stop Workplace Drama (Wiley 2011). For more information visit www.marlenechism.com.