Three's a crowd
A manager became aware of problems between three members of his team. Two would gang up on the third, but the pattern kept changing. He talked to them individually, trying to understand what was going on. He pointed out that they were creating a bad atmosphere which was affecting everyone's performance. After three edgy sessions, he felt none the wiser. Things got worse when one of the three made a formal complaint about the attitude and antics of her two male colleagues.
In consultation with HR, he brought in an independent investigator. She discovered an incident which had triggered the difficulties and which still reverberated around current behaviour. Her view was that the parties lacked the skills to resolve the conflict unaided but that they were likely to respond positively to mediation.
Comment: To avoid a conflict of interest, a SpiroNicholson investigator will never act as mediator on the same case.
