Dear Bob ... Several months ago I terminated one of our IT managers. It was a classic situation: He thought he should be running the place and couldn't accept my authority. I did try the technique you suggested when I first came in, and he said all the right things. It became clear pretty quickly, though, that once I left the room the undercutting resumed. The problem is his team. And I do mean his team. He Dear Bob …Several months ago I terminated one of our IT managers. It was a classic situation: He thought he should be running the place and couldn’t accept my authority.I did try the technique you suggested when I first came in, and he said all the right things. It became clear pretty quickly, though, that once I left the room the undercutting resumed. The problem is his team. And I do mean his team. He hired them, led them for years, and built a strong sense of team identity focused on having him at the helm. Now the whole team is undercutting me, complaining about how I treated this loyal, hard-working manager and generally killing morale throughout the organization.That is, the ones who are still here are doing that. I’ve already lost a few good programmers who couldn’t deal with his departure and my role in it. (No, I didn’t announce that I’d terminated him, but he told everyone his side of the story as soon as he left.)What can I do to salvage the situation? – HauntedDear Haunted …The full answer to your question will take more time and space than this format allows; keep an eye on Keep the Joint Running for a more complete answer. Here’s the short (or at least, shorter) version: This situation arises from two linked sources. The first is that your departed manager established the strong sense of team identity by fostering an us-vs-the-world culture. “The world” included the rest of IT and the rest of the company. It’s a cheap, easy way to establish yourself as a leader. Sounds like you were dealing with a cheap and easy guy.The other source is that your departed manager controlled communication with his team. All they heard was what he wanted them to hear, and if they heard anything else, he made sure they also heard how he wanted them to interpret it.My guess is that even though he’s gone, he still keeps in touch with his team, which means he still controls communication with them. You can’t sever his contact with the team, but you can increase your own. Start with a free-for-all staff meeting. Establish at the beginning that morale in the team is poor, that you’re going to do your part in improving it, and that in the end their morale is their responsibility. Then, allow any and all questions, other than questions about the circumstances surrounding their former manager’s departure.Follow that with a period in which you conduct monthly staff meetings and regular one-on-one sessions with each team member. It will take awhile, but eventually most team members will become independent of the departed manager. The remainder will at least grumble less.If, for some reason, you lack the time to address the issue like this, hire or appoint a new manager for the team (but not, under any circumstances, a current member of the team) who will have the time to address the issue. This is a battle for their hearts and minds. Whoever communicates, more and better, and especially with more credibility, will win.– Bob ——– Technology Industry