Complainers, whiners, and other assorted entitled folks

They lurk in every business large and small. They're never satisfied and quite often they can't even take "yes" for an answer. A growing trend these days is to attribute it to their generation. Pricey consultants exclaim that "the Millennials require A, B, and C in order to feel motivated" whereas "Gen-X'ers need Y and Z." Maybe the specific rewards that younger workers seek are indeed different, but human nature and the principles of reinforcement haven't changed. My grandfather ran a successful business not because he understood the needs of his younger workforce, but because he understood people. He knew how to listen when people complained, and he knew how to treat people fairly and consistently. He knew when employees were being unrealistic and he wasn't afraid to tell them. He also understood the significance and meaning of complaints. For example if the magnitude of the complaint was out-of-proportion to the offense, he recognized that there might be a deeper issue that was bothering the employee. Rather than getting sidetracked by an employee's dissatisfaction, he focused on restoring genuine mutual respect. That strategy will work with every generation.

Have a problem with one of your key people? Here are four tips:

1.  Be optimally self-aware of how your leadership style may be affecting the situation. Consider the case of an angry senior associate who felt that his career had stalled. He grew increasingly resentful as time passed and others were promoted ahead of him. The CEO (who never met a conflict he wouldn’t avoid) refused to speak with him about the issue, which made matters considerably worse. The CEO didn’t recognize how his conflict-avoidant style was exacerbating the situation.

2.  Think twice about using e-mail to communicate with the person. It’s true that e-mail can be more convenient, but e-mail is black and white whereas human interactions involve all shades of grey. No matter how well you write, it will be prone to misinterpretation particularly if tension already exists between the two of you. Stop and ask yourself honestly, “why am I communicating via e-mail instead of in-person?” If your answer involves your comfort level (or more specifically, the lack thereof) chances are that unless and until you address whatever internal reservations you have, your communication (whatever form it takes) will be less than helpful.

3.  If the two of you have established a plan to alleviate the problem, be patient. It no doubt took the other person decades to become who they are. Substantive, sustainable behavior change isn’t going to take place in a matter of weeks. To put it into perspective, consider that a typical sales cycle can take 6 months or more. A decision-to-buy is a simple matter compared to changing complex behavior.

4.  Don’t pin your hopes on training. You can train for certain skills but you can’t train people to change, particularly when it comes to complex interpersonal matters that are better addressed through coaching. Corporate America spends billions a year on training. Unadorned, it’s nothing more than pouring very good information into the trainee’s head. Poured information doesn’t amount to much.  Real change begins inside, starting with self-awareness.  By analogy, you can probably do an acceptable job of combing your hair while staring out the window, but you'll get better results if you look into a mirror.   

Employee Surveillance vs. Effective Management

I recently heard about a new policy at a corporation here in Chicago. Without discussing the matter with their employees they began fitting their service trucks with GPS devices to track their whereabouts, along with cameras and microphones in the truck cab to monitor activities and conversations. This isn’t the first company to install such devices, and I can appreciate that in some situations they offer an extra measure of security – for example, among a fleet of armored vehicles or trucks carrying valuable goods subject to theft or hijacking. However the trucks in question don’t fall into that category and it sure sounds like the corporation has decided to rely on advanced technological devices to hold their drivers accountable.

There’s no disputing that simpler devices have been used for years, starting more than a century ago with the night watchman’s watchclock and the employee punch-clock. Yet this strikes me as extreme surveillance - instead of effective management. Rather than imposing such an intrusive system, how about hiring and developing skilled managers who know how to bring out the best from their drivers? Now that this corporation has spent a small fortune on gadgetry, what are their managers doing? Will more companies turn to automation because they don’t have a clue about how to lead or manage people?

Who makes this stuff up?

Yesterday my phone rang and the caller ID showed the name of a highly regarded survey organization. I answered and agreed to participate in a survey about my experience with my bank. No doubt many of you have had a similar experience. What startled me was how inane the survey questions were. Among the standouts (followed by my reaction):

"Agree or Disagree: It was easy to find the person you needed to deal with"
Sorry, but Forrest Gump could have found the teller blindfolded.

"Agree or Disagree: The teller made me feel special"
Thankfully I have enough going on in my life that I don't need to interact with a teller in order to feel special.

"Agree or Disagree: Bank such-and-such is a name I can trust"
Frankly, I tend to trust people rather than names.

"Agree or Disagree: I can't imagine a world without Bank such-and-such"
You've got to be kidding! Who makes this stuff up?

I could not believe that the survey organization constructed these questions. In fact the interviewer on the other end of the line chuckled when I suggested that these questions sounded like the product of the bank's marketing department rather than the survey firm. My question is, who at the bank crafted this nonsense and what did they expect to do with the data?

If the bank's executives want people to trust the firm, they need to select and promote people who conduct themselves in a trustworthy fashion. They don't need to waste time determining whether their tellers make people feel special, but they should select tellers who have an innate capacity to graciously and politely engage customers. Thoughtful hiring and promotion decisions are not that difficult if you have expert systems in place, and the results will be far more beneficial than what the bank will derive from its survey.

Thankfully, my most recent transaction at the bank had occurred the day before - I was there to close out my account.