negativity, motivation and business

negative positive employees

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“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

 

 

Anna Karenina

 

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So.

 

I admit. I don’t have many conversations with business leaders about managing negativity in their businesses.

 

But.

 

I admit. I have so many emails in my junk mail about “how to effectively manage negative employee situations” or “managing negativity in the workplace” it must be an issue.

 

Anyway.

 

I am not convinced negativity in the workplace is a huge issue if you know your business shit as a leader & manager.

 

To be clear. In my mind … managing negativity in the workplace consists of a look attention listensimple two step program:

 

 

  • Do not ignore any negativity

 

  • Talk with any negative employee

 

 

Wow.

 

Maybe I could do an email program on that.

<Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm … business building idea ….>

 

Here is why negativity, real counterproductive negativity and not simple daily bitching & moaning, is rarely a big issue.

 

More often than not we business people in management muddle through understanding that in any organization with any significant number of employees someone will be unhappy about something at any given time.

 

All businesses have some aspect of dysfunction, some weird employees and odd situations which compel employees to have opinions on everything. As a leader … you recognize that all employees are yours, you love them the best you can, you try and not hate them the best you can and try and create an environment in which they feel welcome and be productive.

 

You don’t ignore the negativity but you also don’t invest gobs of energy trying to make everyone happy.

 

I say that and, yet,  there is an entire industry of people having weird discussions and offering some weird advice with regard to negativity and motivation.

 

Because this advice giving industry seems to have some viable place in the business word I have to imagine there is some meaningfully sized cadre of business leaders or managers who cannot discern between a difficult employee and a larger negative thread running through an organization.work negative business bullshit employee

 

My guess, though, is that many leaders just don’t have the time & patience for the glimmers of negativity which flash in and out like a dying light bulb and just delegate responsibility to deal with it to someone else.

 

And in delegating it … well … all of a sudden there becomes this weird Crazy Ivan shift from simply managing the negativity to instead examining how to motivate people. As if negativity can be reversed into motivation <or something like that>.

 

And inevitably this “what do I do” discussion devolves into some simplistic reward positive behavior versus discipline negative behavior initiative discussion.

 

Basically … this means a lot of people invest a lot of energy trying to change negative attitudes to positive attitudes.

 

<please note that i think that is a little crazy>

 

 

Look.

 

While I suggested some negativity is a given in any organization when I fall into a discussion about perceived negativity in an organization and probe the leaders a little it seems like there are some common spaces in which the discussion falls:

 

  • We went through a rapid expansion and hired a shitload of new people <and now we are dealing with the fallout and the normal curve of good hires to less than good hires>

 

  • We have had relatively flat sales and a consistent business <stagnancy & staleness breeds some questioning … bitching … worrying which creates second guessing>

 

  • We made a business strategic shift <strategy shifts create change … and not all employees will embrace change>.

 

 

The easy thing to say now is that more than likely high level decisions or company vision type things were not communicated well.

 

Let’s assume this is correct. If so I don’t need to motivate I need to communicate … and I certainly don’t need to discipline.

 

But let’s say there is a real problem.

 

Many of these discussions begin off the wrong foot. Many business leaders <in fact the older they are the more what I say is most likely true> don’t even acknowledge the extent of the problem.

 

And by that I mean while everyone kind of accepts the fact you cannot have everyone, or make everyone, happy 100% of the time they are reticent to acknowledge pockets of negativity or threads of negativity – they are more likely to suggest it is just individuals. And while that may conceptually be so I will suggest farther on that emotions and the emotional construct of your total employee base is where everyone should begin.

 

It is really really easy to do one of two wrong or misguided  things as a leader:

attention pay no to

  • Mentally suggest the issue is individuals: the biggest flaw in this is that many negative attitude employees can actually be high performers. In their external negativity they are internally motivating themselves to do good shit. In other words … not all pain-in-the-ass employees are created equal.

 

  • Mentally bucket the solution into “employee initiative” <because it is a perceived employee poor behavior>: the biggest flaw in this is that the harsh truth is if there is any significant negative thread in an organization … it is more often a derivative of something the leader is doing, or not doing, than it is a real employee issue.

 

 

So leaders actually have to address the really really hard thing … and ‘mentally’ is actually the key word here.

 

Negativity, and motivation by the way, is a mental thing <attitudinal>. Forget the compensation and rewarding and disciplining crap for a while and focus on the mental attitudinal stuff.

 

This creates a huge challenge if you do so because … well … some personal attitudes are next to impossible to change. Cynicism is cynicism just as overly optimistic is overly optimistic.

But you can affect attitudes with regard to the organization itself. Morale in an organization is almost inextricably linked not to individual stuff but greater good stuff <without losing sight of some balance between individual needs and greater good>.

 

Interdepartmental bitching is aggravating but rarely the ring of the death knell for an organization … but the insidious hallway sniping of the organization, or the leadership, itself is the stuff that undermines productivity and f productivity is undermined … well … the entire business becomes at risk.

 

Look.

 

I will admit. I am not a big “carrot & stick” organizational motivation fan or believer. When I hear about disgruntled employees or negativity whispers in the hallways I very rarely begin thinking or discussing “what can we do to create a more positive culture in the organization” but rather turn the microscope on the leadership and ask “what are you saying? What are you doing?”

 

I believe to be an effective, respected leader you are the one who has to rein in any out of line negativity and it is up to you to get your organizations’ heads on straight and productivity back on track.

 

Next.

 

I believe it is foolish to believe every work day can be met with passionate smile negative employee business fakeenthusiasm. There are far too many things that can affect the moods of the individuals let alone the mood of the organization to believe everyday should be, let alone could be, 100%.

 

You really only worry if the “less than optimal” mood is persistent … or if it affects a specific day in which negativity has to be shelved for the moment.

 

But motivating employees day in and day out? Yikes.

 

Motivation is intrinsic. The fact is that someone is motivated or they aren’t.

That doesn’t mean you cannot tailor some management techniques to specific individuals but organizational motivation is not an initiative nor is it some “list of things we are going to do.”

 

Motivation, just like negativity and being positive, is an internal engine.

 

As a leader you need to recognize that there truly is only one high grade gas you can put in this engine – the organizational vision, the cultural soul & … well … truth <not transparency … but truth>.

 

If an employee believes in the organization & believes the leadership, any negativity they may have is semantics. It more often than not just means that part of their gig is bitching & moaning.

 

Lastly.

 

This all adds up to an ability to feel the pulse of an organization.

 

This is as easy and as difficult as anything in business.

The reasons it should be easy is because … well … if you are even worth half a shit you kind of know your organization, know your team, know the employee desires <not necessarily the employees themselves> and you know when it feels “right.”

 

The reasons it should be difficult is because … well … business shit and people shit are two different kinds of shit. As a manager and leader you are being barraged day in and day out with real business shit – sales, expenses, meetings, distribution problems, results, questions, the crisis of the day, etc. – and with all of this you can sometimes get a little numbed to the people shit. This does not mean you are any less aware of what the people are feeling … it is just that sometimes you lose your sense of how big or how small the people shit is.

 

There are absolutely tools you can implement to try and keep a finger on the pulse and even some tools which may kind of feel like lurking or spying on your employees but can be slightly helpful in identifying any negative symptoms before it has the opportunity to grow into some morale demoralizing consequences which damage the workplace.

But they are tools.

 

Remember.

 

Two step program:

 

  • Do not ignore negativity

 

  • Talk with the employee

 

Sad place.

You must address the issues. If you don’t … well … just imagine the worst. It is a pain in the ass to resolve negativity once it has grown some roots or has gathered some momentum.

 

And it may seem not very time efficient to implement my two step program but it actually is.

 

Why?

 

First.

 

Face to face handled well creates at least a thread of positive … “I still have a negative attitude but I will give you credit with the rest of the organization for listening and addressing it face to face.”

 

Second.

 

Face to face gives you the opportunity to do the deeper dive into the real negativity issue.

 

While I do not believe you can eliminate all negativity and you certainly do not want to fire anyone simply because they can have a negative attitude < with exceptions – severely negative persons who purposefully disturb the work environment despite all your efforts need to be shown there are consequences for the negativity> I think it helps to focus not on the negativity but rather the root of it … because most times a negative attitude is derived from negative emotional feelings … rather than simple negative situations/scenarios. This is a slightly contrarian point of view as you are most likely to view managers and leaders trying to address simple “stimulus – response” negative situations.

But I tend to believe the hierarchy of organizational/employee negativity is negative emotions in a person create negative perceptions of the situation or what is going on around them and then ultimately these perceptions drive a negative attitude.

 

I suggest that because this would mean you wouldn’t necessarily focus on situations <like “lay offs” per se> but rather focus on negative emotions associated with “lay offs.”

Only a face to face can uncover this kind of stuff.

 

Third.

 

While negativity in individuals can almost take on a larger amoeba form way beyond the actual issue … negativity is like a magnet. In a face to face with a negative person you actually hear ALL the possible negativity threads within the organization. Some people call this gossip … I do not. I call it the unplanned hallway conversations, which I never hear because … well … I am a manager and it just doesn’t happen, which are kind of the pulse of the organization.

 

A negative person more often than not, if you listen well, will give you some thoughtful thoughts which you can use to head off some other issues as well as proactively

 

 

Anyway.

 

I think I view negativity in the workplace a little differently than many other business people.

 

I believe humans are not born with either positive or negative attitudes … and organizations are not created with ether positive or negative attitudes <although someone can enter an organization with some well-grounded perceptions>.

 

The positive or negative attitude is the outcome of perceptions about the situations, events etc., which one experiences.

 

Attitudes develop over a period of time. and attitudes can often be changed over time.

It all begins with creating a foundation of positive emotions <or the most positive you can create> which will inevitably lead to developing positive perceptions with regard to what is happening around them and thereby creating positive attitudes.

 

And that being said I believe any negativity in the workplace is <99% of the time> directly linked to leadership behavior & attitudes <what they do or do not say and what they do and do not do>.

 

You have to insure the management team models whatever behavior is desired … this includes positive. Far too often management looks to charisma in leading an organization positively. They believe that charisma inspires people to new heights of belief and passion and positive motivation.

 

I do not agree.world better place improve hate love

 

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“The three most charismatic leaders in this century inflicted more suffering on the human race than almost any trio in history: Hitler, Stalin, and Mao.

What matters is not the leader’s charisma. What matters is the leader’s mission.”

 

Peter F. Drucker

 

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Truth.

Integrity. Treating others with dignity.

 

And a purpose dynamic beyond … well … the simple nuts & bolts of what the business does.

 

If you, as a leader, build a campfire employees will naturally gather around it and warm their hands, hearts & minds.

If you do that? Well. How could negativity prosper in that environment?

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Written by Bruce