Stupid Behaviors #4 & #5: “It’s All About Me” and “If You Think Today is Bad, Just Wait!”
This is part three in our series, “11 Stupid Things That Managers Do to Mess Up Workplace Excellence.” So far we have gone over the first three Stupid Behaviors of Managers:
The next two Stupid Behaviors are: It’s All About Me, and If You Think Today is Bad, Just Wait!
Stupid Behavior #4: It’s All About Me
There are some managers who indirectly convey to their team, “You’re so lucky to have me here.” They love to tell people about their amazing accomplishments in the past, and how wonderful the organizations were where they previously worked. By relating their past accomplishments, they indirectly put people and the current organization down. The inference in their message is that people here just don’t get it, and that they should be grateful to work for such an accomplished manager who will help lead them down the right path. Interestingly… being told indirectly that you don’t get it typically doesn’t motivate or inspire an employee to contribute much beyond the critical components of their job function. In an interview we conducted to collect feedback on a manager, one employee pointed out, “We have been successful enough to hire this new manager and move him and his family all the way across the country. To have him join our organization and, in the first month, listen to him tell everyone how bad we are and how good he is, just turns people off. You are here as consultants because this manager was hit by friendly fire.” Managers who sing only their own praises usually have few people joining their chorus. Stupid Behavior #5: If You Think Today is Bad, Just Wait! There are only three types of visions: Stupid behavior #5 is credited to managers who aspire to the third type of vision listed above. They are energy zappers who suck the very life out of the team with their negative vision and “woe is us” attitude. Because they convey to employees that the situation is hopeless, they absolve themselves of any responsibility for taking action to address concerns. Their negative vision and lack of initiative to address challenges creates a workforce with a “whatever” attitude. If the boss doesn’t think there is any hope, why should the employees? Ho-Hum. Just another day to get through in order to get a paycheck. To learn more about the next two Stupid Behaviors, Failure to Communicate and Talk First, Listen Later, check back on Monday and read the fourth installment in this blog series. You may also like:
Filed Under: Leadership, Peter's Blog on October 30th, 2009
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