The human capacity for choice can be both a blessing and a curse. The capacity to choose is often times overlooked when it comes to understanding performance in the work place. In times of a labor shortage, managers tend to disregard individual accountability, especially with an employee who is extremely proficient in a technical sense but whose attitude and behaviour is toxic. Managers try to cure these employees by applying a host of techniques related to communication, behaviour-based expectations, training and retraining, rewards and recognitions. E. Lawrence Kersten calls all this activity the “motivational-educational-industrial or the ME-I” complex, where managers are “encouraged” that the ills of problem employees are curable. (See “Soul Assassins,” Fast Company, May 2005, page 85.)
On the contrary, our research has found that, at a certain point, enough is enough. Many problem employees who are poisonous to the cohesion of a department do not respond to motivation. If you try to challenge their status quo, they will erupt—especially when you decide to create a culture of accountability. The best tactic is to remove them from the work place or to pressure them into a choice: change or leave.
Don’t misunderstand this point – there is still a huge need for performance coaching and counseling to achieve optimal performance outcomes. Providing resources and training to people with the right attitude will help them learn and grow, allowing them to be highly productive.
We spend far too much time trying to coach the negative attitudes of problem employees than we do with those employees who want to improve their skills, who desire to contribute to the greater good of the organization, but who simply lack the requisite skill or knowledge to do so effectively.
CORPORATE HARMONY is grateful to Dr. Michael E. Frisina for his contributions to this entry.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.