how we should motivate, compensate, and manage the people once they’re on board.
After nearly 30 years of managing employees,
hiring employees, and coaching other people’s employees, I can tell you there
are three “syndromes” that will, without fail, make you wish you’d avoided
employees altogether. Here’s how to recognize them, and why you should never
put up with them.
1. Not-my-job syndrome.
You’re probably familiar with this one. You
may have even seen the meme with the picture of a dead opossum lying in the
middle of the road with the yellow center stripe painted right over it. I have
yet to know anyone who didn’t get that meme, because we’ve all known (or been)
the employee who was so determined to never be the sucker who requests to
perform any task not officially in their job description were met with disdain
and, when asked why they didn’t correct a potentially disastrous situation or
mistake, they’ll respond with some variation of, “That is not my job.”
Imagine what would happen if none of your
staff ever did anything that wasn’t, strictly speaking, their job. Every time
you had a team member out on vacation or a sick day your well-oiled machine
would start to hiccup. A heavier than expected work load, or a crisis in a
project plan would cause a tail spin that would make heads spin. If you can’t
afford for all of your employees to have this attitude you can’t afford for any
of them to use “it’s not my job” as a reason for avoiding tasks or
responsibilities.
2. "That’s my job, don’t
touch it" syndrome.
We often mistake this one for the laudable
trait of “taking ownership.” It’s great when you have someone who takes
ownership of the outcome
of a task or project, but when they’re so proprietary about it that no one else
is allowed to pitch in you have just set your entire team up for a logjam. What
you’ll notice, when you know what to look for, is that others on the team don’t
contribute to the outcomes this person “owns.” They’ll also often complain that
others don’t perform any task up to their standard, which again, we often
mistake for a positive trait of an “excellence mindset” when really they’re
sabotaging the results that others are achieving.
Once you view this attitude as proprietary
rather than believing it is simply a desire to achieve excellent outcomes,
you’ll start to see how it’s hampering others on the team from growing and
developing. You’ll also begin to notice that backups in process or breakdowns
in systems often occur because this person can’t keep up. You might even start
to realize how dependent you are on this individual and how much knowledge and
training they’re hoarding. Unless you want to be a hostage to their need for
control and job security you’ll put a stop to their ability to ward off all
offers of assistance.
3. "OMG, it’s a crisis but it’s OK. I’ve got it
covered” syndrome.
I call this one the “White Knight Syndrome.”
When you have an employee with this attitude you’ll have very few dull days
because there will always be some drama/trauma brewing. And you’ll likely be
adding this employee to your gratitude list on almost daily, as well. Because
whatever the challenge, they’re riding to the rescue.
But when you pay attention you may start to
realize that they’re like the hero firefighter who turns out to be the
arsonist. They’re so addicted to the recognition for being the go-to person in
a crisis that they’re stirring the pot to make sure there is a crisis for them
to go to. This might show up in the form of gossip that gets your team riled up
about something that was, at most, a minor issue. Or it might take the form of
more serious sabotage.
The costs of having this individual on your
team are obvious. Even if they do save the day every time, the increased stress
and reduced productivity take a toll.
Keep in mind that the behaviors associated
with these “syndromes” are seldom coming from conscious mindset, and they’re
almost never malicious. They’re usually symptoms of an emotionally immature or
highly insecure mentality. It’s possible that with coaching the syndrome can be
addressed, the behavior corrected and the mindset shifted to one of team
collaboration and support.
Bu if you allow any of
these syndromes a place on your team you’ll find that the mindset pervades the
entire culture, resulting in a destruction of morale for your team, loss
of productivity for your business and an increase in headaches for you.
Written
by: Dixie Gillaspie
Credit:
Entrepreneur.com
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment