Managing in the Gray
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the problem. In other words, smooth sailing through a gray
area means someone isn’t paying attention or doesn’t really
understand what is going on.
The other lesson is that, with gray area problems, all you
can sometimes hope for and struggle for is getting the pro-
cess right. Alisha Wilson’s only solid reassurance was that
she had engaged in a long, honest process of trying to under-
stand Kathy Thompson’s problem and resolving it in a way
she could live with. With others, she had worked through
the full consequences of her options, the rights and duties
at stake, the pragmatic limits on what she could do, and the
norms of her organization. Wilson tried hard to get the pro-
cess right, in hopes of getting the decision ...