09/ 27/ 2005
According to Robert Herbold, former COO of Micrsoft and author of "The Fiefdom Syndrome," turf battles can happen in companies of any size--but especially when your company starts to grow. "Employees anywhere can get fixated on their own activities to the detriment of the company," he says. "It’s human nature to want to control information and be as independent as possible. As you grow, you start delegating more responsibilities. That's when it's easy for employees to say, 'Now I'm independent. I can tell the boss I need more resources. I want to do things my way.'"
There are ways to prevent turf battles--or to stop them in their tracks. Here are some of Herbold's recommendations:
1. Standardize the way you do business: As your business grows and adds departments or even second locations, making sure all processes are standard will not only save you a lot of administrative headaches, it will also keep everyone—no matter where they are—on the same page. "From the very beginning, make sure you do it one way, that way when these different divisions emerge, it should all be very straightforward," Herbold says.
2. Have a culture of inspection: "With some degree of frequency, a boss can swoop in and make sure the business is operating consistently across all units." According to Herbold, this will keep employees and managers focused on the interest of the company.
3. Rotate jobs: Herbold says to avoid skill atrophy, you should get employees out of their comfort zone by rotating their projects. "You begin to believe that removing them would be a huge risk,” he says. “But by not moving folks around, you’re going to miss out on opportunities because people get comfortable. They get hardened in thinking.” Make sure you explain your reasoning for moving employees around, though, because “you will get pushback,” Herbold says.
