To meet or not to meet (Last!)

Tuesday came around and I'm seated in the lobby with LLB, bringing him up to date on the issue. He was very amused by the reaction coming from VG as he did not expect the guy to be so a shallow. Freddie and Myles were in the Boardroom, in another committee meeting with the CEO and some doctors. And VG. Anyway, 9.30am and they're still in there.

A little befo0re 10am and Myles came out, followed by Freddie. I was in a short skirt and a long tailored blouse so, of course, his eyes wandered from my face to my legs. (I was titillated.)

We proceeded to the Boardroom and our own meeting commenced. of course, it turned out to be a "Get Emyn" spree, with Mega leading the tirade. But being such amateurs at this sort of thing, they easily failed in their attacks.

The first issue raised was about the list of participants in an orientation seminar. Lucy brought it up because she allegedly received complaints from supervisors that they were not informed that members of their staff were to participate in said seminar. She then cited a memo from Dr. P, the committee chairman, requiring that a list of participants be released o or before the 24th of last month, which requirement was never complied with.

I drafted that memo which also assigned RDG and Myles to making the list. It turns out that there was such a list but it was never released. It was given to the committee secretariat which, instead of releasing the list to all departments, simply called up the individuals named in the list and informed them over the phone that they were participating in the seminar. Also, Myles' list of clinical personnel came in a day late, but this was with the knowledge and approval of RDG. It wasn't easy to fix nurses' schedules.

My first question was: Who among the department supervisors made the complaint to Lucy.

As Lucy could not name anyone and, instead, kept hedging the question, it was made apparent that there was no one. Realizing that her argument had been blocked, she turned to the issue of the deadline which Myles failed to comply with. I immediately countered this with the fact that RDG himself gave Myles an extension of one day within which to submit her list, thus, making the issue of the deadline moot and academic.

My other counter-arguments:

1. The list was not an important element, as there was a memo that was circulated informing the supervisors that a seminar was being scheduled on such and such a date, and requiring employees to participate.
2. Not receiving any instructions as to choosing who among his or her staff members were to participate in said seminar, a supervisor need only pick up the phone and inquire from the persons named in the memo (i.e., RDG and/or Myles).
3. Or, in the alternative, such supervisor can always ask his or her staff members if they had received word regarding attending the seminar.

In other words, I emphasized that it only took a little bit of logic to solve the dilemma.

Unfortunately, Mega remarked that it was not a question of logic but of tradition. He based his argument on the fact that, in the past, lists were always released. That was the custom and in his opinion, should always be upheld. It was not clear whether he had evidence that this custom was effective, or that it was precisely and merely that, customary.

I was, needless to say, aghast at such brushing off of logic.

Mega followed this up with the claim that all decisions made by top management had always been arrived at after reaching a consensus, unlike the present wherein all decisions were made by -- Emyn, who else.

My question: cite at least one instance when Emyn made a crucial decision without consulting the committee.

VG cited as an example the holding of a committee socials which was set that coming Thursday. I saw Freddie give a perceptible start and kept my mouth shut. Freddie strongly opposed him there. Myles seconded with stronger emphasis on hearing Dr. P say that he thought it was a good idea, and didn't VG hear that statement?

At this point, Freddie addressed Mega's claim of tradition, stating that customs were good but there were times that changes needed to be introduced to further improve the organization. Sensing that he wasn't going to get anywhere down that road with Freddie, a doctor and an officer of the hospital, no less, Mega switched to not being informed of any of the committee meetings.

Myles confronted him directly with the fact that RDG had always informed him of these meetings not just once but several times in the past. And, as a surprising move for Myles, asked RDG pointblank to confirm this, which RDG did. I was watching their faces all this time: Mega was being surly; Myles was extremely hot and angry; and RDG was beginning to show exasperation.

Mega, however, had another shot: he had ever been given copies of any of the committee reports (which, as everyone knew, I had all drafted). I almost laughed when RDG and Myles almost exasperatedly said that they were all on the network server.

VG was not to be silenced so easily as he tried to save the argument: the files were all protected by a password, which Mega seconded. I'm sure they did not miss the disbelieving looks RDG, Myles, and I exchanged. That was, I think, what silenced them finally, not the diplomatic close that Freddie provided. After all, what was so difficult in picking up a phone and asking me, the author of the report, what the password was? I had given the passwords to RDG, the vice chair, so he could open the files and print out copies for the committee chair and members. Should he decide to save on paper and have the members just access the reports from the network themselves, that was no longer my concern; I was not its secretariat nor was I responsible for the secretariat.

In fact, at that point, I was so extremely frustrated with the entire committee that I decided to ignore it completely (or maybe as much as I could) and just concetrate on my sub-committee (composed of Myles, Freddie, LLB, and myself). Of course, I've relented since then.

I closed with an apology to the entire committee for having stepped on people's toes, albeit unintentionally, and reminded them that I've only been with the hospital for five months and so, still learning the ins and outs. I apologized to VG and even offered a written apology. Obviously flattered, he very shyly rejected the idea. Being such a naive idiot, he missed out on the sarcasm that followed when I offered to furnish copies to the CEO and the members of the Board.

There was laughter all around but it was only Myles, Freddie, and LLB truly got what I was driving at. In any case, that broke the tension. Ever the facilitator, or so he likes to think, Freddie brought up the socials on Thursday. I put on a big grin on my face and engaged RDG on issue of the menu. As an animated conversation ensued among RDG, Myles, Freddie, LLB, and even Lucy (who was apparently trying to appear genuinely involved), I saw Mega out of the corner of my eye, slinking away. I had this image of a flee-bitten dog crawling away with its tail between its legs. Unfair to dogs, really, but, there.

Parenthetically, the socials was a big hit. Everyone was there, including the CEO and his wife. Mega, of course, was a no-show, but everyone had a lot of fun. The after-party was a lot more fun but I reserve that for another post.

What was the lesson learned here? Strengthen your base first, before confronting the enemy. And once you have confronted the enemy, make sure that he sees how strong your base can get. Practical effect: he may no longer wish to engage you in battle. Which is precisely what happened here: a few days after the meeting, RDG informs Myles and myself that Mega had quit the committee. Not a major victory, really, as he wasn't much of a challenge. Still, one idiot less to deal with is always a good thing.

As for VG, he's still plodding slowly along, looking more and more idiotic everyday, uttering stupid remarks now and again. Myles, who used to look up to him, could not believe how threatened he could get and, thus, shallow and resistant to change. I have not changed how I behave with them; I still deal with them light-heartedly, with a sweet smile on my face. I have not shown my courtroom manner again, after that meeting. It obviously took them aback to see how confrontative I could get.