THE “SEVEN Cs”: Partnership Danger Signs - The 5th C: Control Issues
By Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D.

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.

The 5th C: Control Issues

When control is in the picture it is a lose/lose proposition.

First, it is an illusion that anyone can control a person or a situation. The need to control is born of fear, lack of trust and insecurity. A person who feels it is necessary to control is robbed of a sense of well being. In business, control or the attempt to control can occur in many venues.

The attempt to control can go on at the top between partners or anywhere else in the organization where two or more people work together. It may be between a group of managers, or between a CEO and direct report. It can be a manager and the team for whom he or she is responsible. It might be an owner CEO and stock holders, or a member of the board of directors. Family members such as siblings often attempt to control each other, or a father hands the business to his son, but won't let go of the reins.

When someone attempts to control, they expend enormous mental and emotional energy to hold things within boundaries. Controlling behavior is constrictive and confining. It takes its toll on one's ability to function in a healthy, stress free and creative manner.

In business where the desirable goals are growth, expansion and creativity, this constricting behavior imposes the loss of these elements and seriously affects the bottom line. Here are some ways in which this loss is manifested:

7 WAYS CONTROLLING BEHAVIOR EFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINE

*Unhappy, controlled employees do not work to capacity.

*Unhappiness breeds stress, illness and costs in sick leave and lack of productivity.

*Increased turnover is costly. Often businesses do not calculate the enormous costs around turnover such as costs for advertising, loss of the revenue until a new person is hired, trained and moved up to the level of the prior person, as well as a compensation package. There are higher taxes for Workman's Compensation when a business has employees leaving.

*Loss of clients who liked that person may leave.

*Projects that were left unfinished may never get completed.

*Demoralization of employees left behind.

*Overall lower level functioning when top managers and CEO's stifle the atmosphere by controlling behavior

An example of controlling behavior is Lance, who was promoted to manager of a department in the bank where his expert financial skills earned him recognition. However, no one thought about or realized his people skills were not developed. He had never had any training in how to be a manager. Now faced with his new challenge his previous level of self confidence diminished to zero. But since he didn't want anyone to know it, he remained hidden a lot in his office, didn't interact in a personal way with his team members, and