What Do You Do When the Boss is an HR Nightmare?

I’m one of those managers who believes that actions speak louder than words.

But, I also know that there are a number of high level managers and executives who don’t follow that line of thinking. The ones I’m referring to are the type who generally say one thing then do something 180 degrees opposite, or, they make comments and references that would get anyone else working for them reprimanded or perhaps even fired.

You know what I’m talking about: the boss who is a walking, talking HR nightmare.

Meet Donald Sterling, HR nightmare

I was thinking about this when reading about Donald Sterling, the owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. Sterling is a mass of contradictions that’s hard to categorize.

On the one hand, he’s a highly-successful (aka, rich) Southern California real estate developer. He’s also recognized as a humanitarian with a charitable foundation that hands out millions of dollars to underprivileged children and other needy charities.

So, why does he sit courtside and heckle one of his star players, something that would get anyone else working for him summarily terminated with extreme prejudice?

As Yahoo Sports describes it:

It’s not uncommon to hear Los Angeles Clippers fans heckle Baron Davis(notes). Of late, however, the jeers directed at the team’s struggling point guard are coming from a far more surprising source: The man paying Davis, Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Sterling has expressed his displeasure about Davis’ play by taunting him from his courtside seat at Clippers’ home games, several sources told Yahoo! Sports. Among Sterling’s verbal barbs:

“Why are you in the game?”

“Why did you take that shot?”

You’re out of shape!”

There’s nothing I can say,” Davis said of Sterling’s taunts. “I have no comment on that. You just get to this point where it’s a fight every day. It’s a fight. You’re fighting unnecessary battles. I’m fighting unnecessary battles.”

Not your typical workplace

Now, professional basketball isn’t your typical workplace, and taunting players (especially by fans) is part of the deal players and coaches accept when they decide to play for pay. Plus, guys who have the means to buy an NBA team usually aren’t shrinking violets and are frequently known to have volatile, controlling personalities.

Yes, that’s the subtext of professional sports. But, what do you do if you are the HR chief of the Los Angeles Clippers and have to deal with inappropriate behavior by the owner – the big boss – that would probably get anyone else on the staff fired?

Here’s what I wrote about this a couple of years ago about another big boss, in another context, who also was making an ass out of himself:

All of this raises an interesting question for managers and executives: Just what do you tell your workers when you have an owner or top boss like Sam Zell who frequently says things that would get most other employees reprimanded or fired? At the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune paper, senior managers went so far as to send out a memo saying that despite what Sam Zell says (or how he says it) “the fundamental rules of decorum and decency apply.” The memo went on to add, “Sam is a force of a nature; the rest of us are bound by the normal conventions of society.”

I understand forces of nature. What I don’t get are guys who get to the top who think that rules are something for everyone except them. And if you work for a guy like this? Well, you only have two options: grin and bear it as you put up with the rantings, or find another job where the top boss has a more reasonable way with words.”

Can you ever control the boss?

Yes, Donald Sterling is another one of those wild and crazy bosses (labeled by one website as “the most evil man in sports”) that HR can’t control, only put up with. And, it must be a full-time job dealing with Sterling given that he not only has the worst team and organization in professional sports (according to Sports Illustrated) but also has had to pay out millions of dollars in discrimination charges over his rental apartment operation.

You can’t blame Clippers management for not doing everything to try to control their out-of-control boss. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Team employees would try to talk to the owner about the (heckling and) comments but felt it was an exercise in futility.”

Yes, trying to control the boss and make them live by company standards can be a problem if they don’t seem to understand that in the best companies, the top people set the proper example for everyone else to follow. It also makes it tough when employees point to the behavior of the big boss and ask why they can do something that would get rank-and-file workers canned. I’ve yet to hear an HR professional come up with a great response to THAT question.

The answer? Just grin and bear it

So how do you deal with a Donald Sterling? If you are in HR, you don’t. You grin, bear it, and know that this is part of your lot in life for as long as you can put up with it. Ultimately, the out of control boss needs to change themselves, but getting them to do that is a difficult task.

One blogger seemed to have a good handle on this problem, and he imparted this advice that is well worth heeding:

Part of creating a culture to succeed is to have open communication and hold people accountable for their mistakes. It’s okay for Sterling to be critical of Baron (Davis), but if he really wants his team to win and isn’t just looking to temporarily align himself with the upset fans, he needs to change himself. He needs to find clarity in his confusion, realize that he is that rich kid that can’t complain about being broke, he is the owner of the Clippers and very responsible for more than just the play and the signings, he’s responsible for the perception of the team. Unfortunately for Clippers fans, that’s a problem that doesn’t seem like it’ll be fixed any time soon.”

I don’t know of an HR pro who could have summarized the issue here any better. Yes, everyone needs to be held accountable — even (and especially) if you are the big boss and own the damn team.