6/9/2010
Read MoreDeal Breakers: 10 Traits & Practices Ruin Your Promotability & Success!
You may have all the basic strengths -- smart, well trained, and, by first appearances, a solid looking, talking, and acting professional. With the benefit of having seen hundreds of people through the years and across their careers, certain significant flaws held them back, counter-acted their strengths, and caused them to fall far short of their potential and aspirations.
I have specific persons in mind behind these flaws, which to my observation have been particularly self-destructive in a hidden kind of way. Over time however, they are exposed and noticed, particularly by the good leaders and accurate assessor of rising talent. What is a shame is that these persons have so much otherwise going for them. But certain flaws undo and offset them.I encourage you to look deep concerning these. I believe we all have to fight them or they defeat us on our path to fulfillment and success at work!
NOTE: These are not basic weaknesses like attendance, substance abuse, sexual harassment, aggressive, and other unacceptable basic behaviors. These are higher level professional weaknesses that expose deeper issues making that person a liability over time.
1. Not an advocate for others to resolve problems.
I have seen this fatal flaw played out repeatedly on the corporate stage. This person speaks in hushed tones about what you should do. Then you do it terrifically, and thud! He communicates to his upper management that the work is done. They are very proud of him and his unit. But he has done nothing to recognize his people. Over time, his people withdraw their support from him, and he is exposed for who he is -- taking all the credit, but making little contribution.
2. Not accepting personal accountability.
Whereas in the first trait the first person took all of the credit, here this second person accepts none of the accountability. They will not be pinned down, but his people with be sacrificed on his altar of blame. They look for him to come to their defense in a tough meeting. They feel abandoned out there, twisting in the wind. People live and learn. So does that company. This person is not a leader, but rather a coward.
3. Relying on political manipulation rather than performance excellence.
4. Not recognizing others, giving them credit, celebrating their success.
This person is like a sound room. All praise and positive reinforcement is muffled, muzzled, suppressed. The people do not hear the positive recognition that they deserve and desire. The manager is self-absorbed. Ultimately that person gets what he seems to have wanted, an isolated, alone role in some quiet corner of the company, far from the heart of it where he once was.
5. Inconsistent; not sticking to their commitments.
Your word means everything in the company. Your word is you. So when a person defaults on their word, they lack spine, guts, courage, and character. They commit one thing to you. Then they let you down in the clutch. Laziness? Maybe. Or perhaps not wanting to spend his capital on someone other than himself. Once a person is known as undependable, inconsistent, and unbankable, their hearts have left them, and ultimately, their feet will follow.
6. Passive, reactor, as a victim, not a solution finding leader.
A leader is meant to lead and manage. There is nothing more frustrating when the leader languishes in a passive victim mentality about what "they are doing to us" instead of leading, setting up the project, defining success, and ensuring the team is delivering the committed result. In the absence of that this person is a place holder, dead weight muddying the project, dampening morale, and making excuses, not progress.
7. The person is negative about the company, leadership, other departments, and his team.
Perhaps not on the surface, but underlying is a sense of entitlement that this person feels maligned and under appreciated, but has plenty of beefs with everyone. Instead of fixing, settling, resolving, and improving, everything stays bogged down in yesterday's baggage, not having a focus upon what can be quickly improved. I have worked with brilliant, very negative people. They are 3 feet forward, but 4 or 5 feet back -- a net negative impact to the organization.
8. Not genuine, fake, avoiding conflict, not facing up to needed solutions.
This person says one thing to you one day and another to another person the next day. Everything is murky; nothing is solid, but rather fluid. Conflicts are avoided, never resolved. Issues are tabled, but fester, sucking the life and energy out of the group. A person who is not a straight-up dealer with the really tough issues quickly and effectively becomes a detractor to company success, however strong his native abilities.
9. Cold, unfeeling inconsiderate, disrespectful of others and their needs.
I have often said in various ways that the inflexible, dead-right, immovable , dug in professional may perform successful organ surgeries but the patient dies. If a professional fails as an effective and empowering people person they are crippled from becoming strong corporate assets. Add to that a cynical, cold, callous, selfish world view, and you have a full out cancer to the organization, that likely needs to be excised from the company.
10. Blindly ambitious, caring for their own career success over everyone and everything else.
There are more folks like this out there than one would suppose. But our world preaches fervently its gospel of self-exaltation, and that nothing else matters except for my personal agenda. Not only are these people death to teams, but they are death to everyone, because none of the others matter unless they can give him the power he craves. Smart leaders see this, try to counsel the person to see his dangerous mindset, and warn him of the consequences.
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