When Your Best Answer Isn’t the Best Answer

The employee never turned his camera on during Zoom calls.

Is this a problem?

His manager thought so. She valued being able to see everyone on the team. All the other team members were usually visible.

She crafted a compelling case for the importance of being seen during meetings and proudly shared her plan to persuade him.

She was going to set them both up to fail.

If you’re thinking, “Wait, what?!” let me explain this lose-lose proposition:

• If the employee chooses not to comply, even once, the issue escalates. After all, he had been spoken to and “agreed” to change.

• If the employee does turn his camera on during every call, his ongoing compliance will breed resentment that will undermine his performance.

Either way, both the manager and the employee lose with this approach.

The best person to persuade the employee was HIMSELF.

Only the employee understood his reluctance to use his camera.

Only the employee could willing decide to make a change.

How can you make this a win-win?

Imagine instead that the manager asks the employee how he wants to be perceived by the team and how his visual absence is weakening his brand.

The employee would realize that he wasn’t acting in his own best interest.

The two of them might discover that using the camera is a choice that can be made strategically – it can be on when it’s important to be visible, and off when it’s not.

By exploring how being on camera would serve the employee’s goals, the manager can empower the employee to commit to making purposeful choices - which would likely result in voluntarily turning his camera on when it is important to do so.

Now that’s a win-win!

Leaders rise through the ranks due to their ability to solve complex business problems, yet often the solution needs to come from within the employee. Replace the urge to give the answer with thought-provoking questions that encourage employees to discover effective solutions for themselves. 

Melissa Janis builds management capabilities to create a workplace that's better for your employees and better for your bottom line.