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The words dodging, evasion, prevention and avoidance have both constructive and dysfunctional applications.   For instance, avoidance can be a calculated action taken that will serve the greater good.  You can take actions that can help you to avert a catastrophe and save jobs or you can decide on avoiding an immediate decision because it takes time to weigh the risks.  There are times when it is okay to wait and let a situation cool down.  This can be a productive approach as heightened emotions impede communication. 

Avoidance is an action or lack of action propelled by a decision and oftentimes, the decision is propelled by an emotion.  This article will explore the darker side of avoidance, why it happens, and what can be done about it.

When avoidance is in a dysfunctional mode it can be driven by fear or anger.  When a person is in a negative avoidance mode, the quality of communication diminishes.    It is important to note that communication can shut down whether or not a person is still engaging you in conversations.  There are some who choose to literally stop all forms of verbal and written communication, others leave the channels open but their responses are vague, circular or confusing.  Sometimes the responses are passive aggressive, where a person is giving the façade of co-operation but there is no intention to follow through with constructive action.

When the intention behind avoidance is not driven by fear, but by a need to take a step back and view the big picture, it is functional if procrastination does not set in.  When avoidance is driven by the fear of a low performance rating, job loss or the loss of a good customer, because of incompetence, a lack of integrity, a low tolerance for mistakes or a lack of knowledge it can end up with disastrous outcomes.

Dysfunctional Avoidance Tactics

Here are a few ways both employees and people leaders avoid and negative responses: 

•  Avoiding the subject can be achieved by changing the subject or pretending the subject was never mentioned.  It is also done by answering a question with a question.
•  Minimization is a commonly used tactic that is used to create a positive spin.  The intention behind minimization is to mislead by creating a false sense of security.  For instance, some persons will a general statement that everything is going well or they misrepresent the facts in other ways.  A way to test this is to ask for specific information.
• Others avoid by screening their calls, not responding to emails or at an extreme, hanging up on others.
•  Blame is a common way that employees divert attention from themselves.  Blame is sometimes accompanied by half truths designed to appease fact seeker

How Avoidance Impacts Others

Using avoidance as a delay tactic only frustrates the people impacted by the delay.  In response, frustration can result in tension or even shouting and profanity, especially if the avoidance is creating an unfair situation where someone feels disadvantaged or disempowered by the circumventive behaviour.  In extreme cases an avoider’s safety can be put at risk causing them to constantly look over their shoulders in anticipation of some type of retaliation.


Introducing Accountability

The whole point of dodging the fall is survival.  When avoidance occurs because of fear or cowardice, the reasons undergirding the evasive action can be fear of consequences, circumvention of conscience, or no conscience at all.  In fear or anger driven circumstances, dodging the fall is about avoiding responsibility and accountability.  Unless the avoider has a cathartic personal experience and honesty and integrity become priority values that drive courageous action, it is highly unlikely that evasion will cease because the need to survive is overrides or nullifies the need to be honest.

If personal transformation is not an option, another way to transform this type of behaviour into functional behaviour is through effective leadership.  Attuned leaders realize the impact of avoidance behaviours on their efforts to build a cohesive, motivated team so here are some of the ways they develop accountable employees:

• Take assertive action to correct unwanted behaviour.  This can include handing out warning letters and depending on the risks created by the avoidance tactics, termination.  This sends a clear message that avoidance will not be tolerated.
• Reward appropriate behaviour through performance management or other recognition progammes.
• Coach direct reports and peers.
• Mentor coworkers.
• Model desired behaviours.
• Provide learning opportunities.  It is important to note that behavioural training without effective systems implemented to ensure the application of the learning produce a much lower return on investment than training used in conjunction with other developmental opportunities.

As a people leader, it is important to select the right combination of interventions so that the root causes can be adequately addressed and authentic change can begin.  As a leader, it is imperative to sustain the behaviours necessary to effect change, otherwise, sporadic attempts to create long-term change will be pointless.

Yvette Bethel is CEO of Organizational Soul, an HR Consulting and Leadership Development company.  If you are interested in exploring how you can create a higher performing organization, you can contact her at info@orgsoul.com.