During the remainder of the week I observed Garvin struggling with his resentment whilst he exercised his dormant capacity for teamwork, initiative and anticipating the needs of clients.  There were several opportunities to acknowledge good results, which I did without condescension or patronization.  

Friday came and we met again.  Garvin was uneasy and opening the discussion was slow.  Eventually, he smiled reluctantly and said;

"You’re the fairest a**hole I’ve ever met!  There’s more B.S. in this place than down in the barn.  Nobody has ever spoken to me the way you did on Monday!  What happens now?"

"Have you got any suggestions?" I replied.

The long and short of it is that Garvin valued his salary more than his anger and began to claw his way back into the workplace.  The team wondered what the hell happened and even began to resent Garvin reasserting his professional authority.  They were so used to working around him they didn’t know quite how to take it.   Over time though, adjustments were made as they realized this was a long term change.  Trust was rebuilt with colleagues and clients.

One of the unexpected outcomes for me was the development of a really positive and open professional relationship with Garvin.  We were able to communicate with increasing ease in a "B.S. free" context.  Over time there was also a sense of connecting about issues outside of work.  Garvin still resents some of the most senior management.  But he has managed to make a separation between them and his professional responsibilities.  He learned again to enjoy the sense of achievement when things go right.

That was 3 years ago.  Today he is in a team leader role in another division.  People have become accustomed to a "functional" Garvin and have raised their expectations.  His team has a good profile within the organization and there is some "back-room" chat about Garvin being considered for a more senior management role.