Every entrepreneur knows what I mean when I say fireworks at work. One employee ignites a spark, usually something about salaries or compensation, and the next thing the entrepreneur knows fireworks has broken out across the entire office.

Now, I assume I am thinking about fireworks as we are moving into the long week or week and a half holiday known as the 4th of July. Yes, it occurs on just one day, but for many employees it seems to require 7 to 10 days of time off to attend. But, I digress.

Women entrepreneurs tend to avoid office fireworks more than men because they are more likely to want to avoid conflict and confrontation. The problem is once the spark has been ignited there is no way of extinguishing it without doing what I call your "911" (emergency put out the fire meeting). Without a quick, definitive response the spark will smoulder, meaning it will fuel emotions in the office and remain an undercurrent to everything else happening in the office. Eventually it will facilitate an employee reaction that will blow up the office and cause more harm than any flame could.

Here are a couple of scenarios. See which one you relate with.

(1) Jane of ABC Consulting (woman entrepreneur) wants to grow her business. She is ready to plan for an exit in the next five years and knows she needs to hire the right people to allow for her to sell and retire. Her current employees get wind that the company is recruiting for new talent. The spark is ignited that (a) the company has money to spend on salaries and compensation and (b) a current employee's position may be in jeopardy.

As the owner, Jane doesn't feel the need or the obligation to share her vision with any of her employees. Clearly, her timing for retirement is her business and no one elses. After all, she built this company with her own money, blood, sweat and tears and she will sell it or close it down if she has to whenever she wants to.

As her business coach, I invite Jane to look at this picture from her employee's perspective. Employee's, good or bad, will naturally withdraw if they feel under siege. And, although I do not believe that it is Jane's obligation to be completely transparent with all her thoughts, she MUST call for a 911 meeting before all hell breaks loose around the office. Jane must share her vision for growth and how it benefits the company as well as all current and future employees. She must explain that the company's goal is to recruit people that will add value to the products and services already being provided and that with growth will come more opportunities. Jane must engage and excite her workforce. She must extinguish the spark of fear and replace it with a spark of enthusiasm.

(2) Susan of XYZ Inc. (a woman-owned business) has built a company with what she believes is a corporate culture of honesty, integrity and transparency. Since she launched the business all employees have been invited to attend quarterly meetings to learn the most inner workings of the business, including income and expense statements as well as balance sheets. Susan believes that when employees are aware of how the business is doing that are more willing to push themselves harder to help the company grow. The spark is ignited when one of the manager's believes that his area of business has more value than other departments. He starts having private meetings with team members he believes will back him as he plans a coup d'état.

As Susan's business coach, I suggest she take an honest look at her leadership abilities. Is she truly running the company openly and honestly because she believes it is what's best for the company or is she just abdicating her role as CEO? In this case, the spark that is ignited smolders for weeks as the majority of employees fear for the longevity of company as well as their own livelihoods.

Susan's only path to regaining control is to meet with the manager who is undermining the corporate culture she has built, and relieve him of his management responsibilities. In this case, he is given an opportunity to stay with the company in a different role, but eventually chooses to move on where his brand of office politics is better accepted.

In both scenarios, FIREWORKS had to be dealt with by direct confrontation. As a woman in business or woman entrepreneur if you are uncomfortable with conflict or with confrontation - GET OVER IT!

"A life without confrontation is directionless, passive and impotent" (Carkhuff and Berenson 1967)

In other words, once in a while your blood needs to get flowing so you'll know you are alive.

Enjoy the FIREWORKS on July 4th and learn to control them by confronting them every day at work.

Photo: Attribution: I, Ikluft