Supporting Colleagues - Indirectly

There is an interesting situation beginning to play out at work at the moment.

There are four of us in our team. A sort of titular head (I say sort of because she is the head but it is a very loose/informal structure), then my closest colleague and a new person who has been brought in to work on a specific area.

My closest colleague and I are working a little on this specific area, though it is not our main area of responsibility. He [close colleague] is not getting on with the new person and has, I think, taken a bit of a dislike to her on a personal basis.

He is also I think being questionned a little by the head. I don't think she is mega-unhappy with him, but there are some parts about his input where she feels he is not delivering or where improvement could/need be made.

When I came into the office on Wednesday morning there was an intense discussion going on about what - or what was not - being done and I sensed a degree of uncomfortableness/pressure on his part.

I usually go out for lunch twice a week with my closest colleague. On both occasions this week the subject has involved him talking about how is not getting on with the new person and his interpretations of the current situation from a wider perspective.

I think he may be reading too much into things and predicting things, i.e. politics, which may, or may not, occur. I am finding it unsettling to a degree and want to stay out of it: I have had enough of these distractions over time and just want to get on with what I do.

At the same time I want to support him because he is a colleague and I like him on a personal basis. Having supportive colleagues would, of course, also be beneficial to me.

I have suggested that he tries to be more amenable to the new person and not allow his personal dislike of her to cloud the issue. Yesterday, he said that he stayed behind the previous evening and had a good talk to her which he seemed happy about, so maybe there is progress there.

I also sent an e-mail - as he and the Head suggested - after his presentation to us yesterday giving my thoughts and feedback on what he had done.

I started with positives and made some constructive comments about how he could add to it. The Head thanked me later in the office for the e-mail and implied that I was on the right lines and made the right sort of suggestions to him.

I am finding my past experience very useful and applicable in all of this. From a personal perspective I am resolved not to be drawn into any personal discord, try to be supportive of everyone by making constructive input and, most importantly of all, ensuring that my own input is significant, relevant and consistent so that, if any issues do start to arise, I am out of the firing line!