My partner, Nolan Knight, often tells the story of his daughters spending hours building a playhouse out of gym mats and how his 3-year old son can tear down their work within seconds. The moral of the story is that it’s very easy to allow one person or a small group to tear down the work of those who are striving to build something special in the organization. In all organizations there are those who build (actively engaged), those who tear down (actively disengaged) and those who watch the show and/or drama unfold (disengaged). A basic rule-of-thumb is that you must have at least four builders (actively engaged employees) for every one person that tears down (actively disengaged) in order to move your organization forward. However, if the person that tears down is in a senior management or leadership position, you may never have an opportunity to build.
Spotting those who tear down…
- Destructive Attitude – Negative remarks; displaying negative emotions such as pouting, crying, or giving the silent treatment to those around him or having a constant frown on his face; One who is consistently late for work or meetings or seems to always have a reason for leaving work during the day or early.
- Gossiping – Hot potatoes (I’m going to tell you something but you have to promise not to tell anyone or do anything about it); listening to gossip; discussing someone in a negative manner without that person in the room.
- Bashing Leadership – Not supporting leadership immediately; questioning, to others, the motives of leadership; thinking she always know best.
- Not coachable – Can’t take a suggestion for improvement without taking offense; thinks he has “arrived” and can’t improve.
- Blame game – Always protects the status quo; never wants to innovate; consistently criticizes the one thing that didn’t work; leaders that stifle progress.
Spotting those who build up…
- Positive Attitude – Frequently smiling; always on-time
- Promotes Leadership – Speaks positively of leadership; Implements leadership’s decisions immediately; Buys into and supports the vision.
- Coachable – Strives to get better every day; seeks out advice and input; embraces innovation.
- Owns it – Takes responsibility for his actions; Always in the top 10% of producers.
Bottom line… When spotting those who tear down, you should take immediate action. Give this person specific expectations and non-negotiables and measure them on a weekly basis. Ensure that this person is in the right role (match talents to task). Quickly move this person out of the organization if the right kind of change does not occur.When spotting those who build up, shine a light on them, promote them as “heroes” in the organization.
If you do nothing and allow some to tear down, your customers will notice, your best employees will leave or become frustrated and demotivated to the point of becoming part of the “disengaged”. Do nothing and the status quo will prevail or worse, you’ll create a new status quo that will make you dream of the good old days.
