Among the hiring mistakes you can make, there are probably two that you have already made and now they're employees. They are poison to your company. They will drain the enthusiasm out of your team. They will sap you and your managers' energies and attention. They will be the primary source of every internal effort that sabotages your enterprise's ability to achieve your goals. These two most dangerous employees are:
1) Someone who doesn't think her job is that important.
This is often a person with low self-esteem, perhaps isn't the most professionally dressed, often fails to make eye contact and is often seen head down at her desk and even walking around. She is often quiet and seldom offers ideas when asked.
At first blush this might simply sound like an introvert. On the contrary, I'm referring to someone who has more serious concerns regarding their value, talent, and ability to impact the operation's success. This is a person who won't go out her way to help a customer, point out a problem, etc. - not because of shyness - but rather because she truly doesn't belief she can make a difference.
Every member of your team, regardless of their talents, must also be self-motivated to bring their best to work and do their best. IF they don't think they can, allow them to work for someone else, preferably a competitor you'd like to see fail.
And
2) Someone who thinks his job is the MOST important
Here's a worker who thinks they're so good, so important, in fact so indispensable, they can walk outside most guidelines. He appears arrogant and condescending to fellow teammates. He acts in a manner that screams, "I'm immune to most rules of accountability and performance."
He is often a senior employee, with tenure, and perhaps can even be a superstar performer. This makes it even more difficult to 'reign him in.' This person can also be a member of an 'untouchable special class,' which we seem to have so many of these days, able to bend, break or totally ignore 'the rules' because of some preferential excuse.
In grade school, we called him, "the teacher's pet." Some people never grow out of that role. It's the job of the manager to see that they do or that they're gone - why? Anyone who is not held to the same high standards as other members of your workforce, creates hostility, lowers morale, and challenges your authority to lead.
Whether tolerating or showing preference to an employee who doesn't exhibit the values you encourage, is a very damaging practice. These are two employee profiles that you need to be 'on the lookout for' and do everything possible to correct the behaviors or send them packing. While everyone is looking for workers, trust me, having one or both of these in your employ is more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to having a unified team.
Remember every employee has one responsibility - to carry out their assigned duties in helping to achieve the organization's goals within the parameters established. Nothing more, nothing less. |
