Kerfuffle

INDEX | THE EDIT | 002 

ker·fuf·fle (noun): a disturbance or fuss. — Merriam-Webster 

Not long ago, I called a client to see how things were going.

“There’s been a bit of a kerfuffle.”

I smiled. “About what?”

“Coffee.”

“What?”

A manager had decided the team was going through too much coffee. She started counting the pods, then locking them away. Within a week people were bringing coffee from home, someone had complained further up, and the group chat was busy with something that cost a few dollars a month.

I’ve lived a version of this more than once, and I suspect you have too.

The word helps. Call something a kerfuffle and its ridiculousness becomes obvious. Nobody can say “the coffee kerfuffle” with a straight face.

But once you stop smiling, the more useful question is why it happened.

Was it about control? Was she trying to feel useful? Had someone mentioned watching costs, and she heard “count the pods”? Or did she simply not have a clear sense of what her role was, so she found something she could manage?

In my experience it’s usually the last one. When people don’t know what’s expected of them, they look for something to control. Coffee pods are easy to count. Leading a team is harder.

So the fix is rarely about the coffee. It’s about clarity. What is this person’s role? What did we actually ask for? Did the message we sent arrive the way we meant it?

That last one belongs to leaders. “Let’s be careful with spending” can travel a long way and change shape as it goes. If a kerfuffle is happening on your team, it’s worth asking what you said before asking what they did.

It’s also worth listening to the noise. The texts, the complaints and the exasperated group chat are all feedback. I’ve come to believe all feedback is good feedback, even when it arrives badly.

My own kerfuffles stopped when I realized I was no different from anyone else on the team. My title didn’t make my small battles any less small.

The next time someone tells you there’s been a bit of a kerfuffle, smile. Then ask what wasn’t clear.

Image: Hydrosphères, Linda Covit. Old Port, Montréal.