Communication Barriers in Leadership: Tales from the Trenches

I work for a well-known, large fast-food hamburger chain with more than 3,300 quick-service restaurants worldwide. Our headquarters is located on the west coast and we have more than 30,000 employees. Our competitors include Jack-in-the-box, Burger King and Wendy’s. I am based at our administrative office located in California along with about 200 employees. I work with a team of three people in our vendor compliance department where we are responsible for managing our relationships with third-parties from conducting audits to setting up new vendors in our system. The department was created in 2011 after external auditors discovered rampant vendor fraud and collusion. I joined the organization in 2013 and my team includes one manager and two compliance specialist: myself and another employee.

Background

During my interview process, the company’s management was candid about the challenges in the department I now work in. I was told the department had a horrible reputation among employees and there was a need to hire someone to fix inefficiencies. The immediate goals were to take steps to mend employee relationships and to streamline processes. The management team felt it was in the best interest of the department to hire someone from the outside who can bring in fresh ideas. When I met with the vice president of finance, he made it clear they needed a “visionary person” who can “think outside the box” to solve problems. Ironically, the manager I am going to discuss in this paper was part of the interview process and she echoed the same sentiments as the other managers I met with.

Shortly after I started working for the company, it did not take me long to figure out why my department was experiencing so many problem. The...

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