The Hot Seat

The project manager was aggressive and unwavering. He spoke and behaved with the kind of confidence and righteous indignation that comes from someone on a mission to right a wrong—and he was armed with all the evidence he needed to back it up.

I was on the hot seat that day dealing with an issue between one of my members and the employer. I felt betrayed by the member, who I would have expected to approach me first about his concerns. I felt ambushed and reacted badly.

But mostly, I felt embarrassed. Embarrassed that a manager was telling me to do my job as a union rep. I reacted defensively and let my emotions flare out of control, and said things I shouldn’t have. I believed I had been doing my job—right up until that moment when the situation with my member became clear.

The anger and indignation I felt were secondary emotions. But they were the ones that erupted in an explosion of heat and volume that day. They were a smokescreen for the underlying, more vulnerable feeling of embarrassment.

How would you feel if you were put on a similar hot seat, ambushed by a situation you maybe should have been better prepared for, but weren’t?

My time on the hot seat has a positive ending. I was able to regroup, sit down, take a breath, apologize, and listen again and more carefully to the concerns being surfaced. And when I did, the project manager and I were able to resolve the matter. We also discussed the dynamics that led to the heated discussion and were able to reach an improved mutual understanding.

Typically, when a member has a concern, the situation is reversed—it’s the union representative putting the employer on the hot seat. But that day the shoe was on the other foot.

My hot seat experience has changed how I advocate for CLAC members. I limped out of that meeting with a new appreciation for how my employer counterparts feel when I call a meeting and lay out issues and concerns surfaced by their employees. It served as a reminder in this case that we both want the same thing—what’s best for their employees.

It also made me realize how easy it is to let emotions get in the way when we’re on the hot seat. I try and keep that in mind now when I raise issues and concerns with an employer.

Remaining mindful of what it’s like to be on the hot seat can serve to protect and support a respectful and productive process. It helps to prevent us from adopting arrogant, smug, and self-righteous elements in our tone and attitude. It opens the way for us to engage more carefully, with respect, and curiosity that there is more to the story. It motivates us to maintain the dignity of both the employee and the employer throughout the process of discovery, evaluation, and resolution.

Now, when my employer counterparts are on the hot seat, I look for ways to offer opportunities for them to save face. Offering “a retreat from their position as an advance toward a better solution,” as William Ury proposes in his book Getting Past No: Negotiating in Difficult Situations, leads consistently toward more productive outcomes.

When tensions begin to build on the other side of the table, I am reminded that posturing and defensiveness, or anger and other barriers thrown up by my counterpart from time to time, may have less to do with the issue at hand and more to do with their emotional response of being on the hot seat. Understanding this distinction can mean the difference between hostile impasse and productive resolution.