Have You Given Up?

It is interesting in my line of work how many different types of people I get to talk to in all stages of life. Most interesting to me are the ex-high performers who for some reason or another have simply given up on fighting the "good fight". They are most likely near retirement or have had some bad experiences that have tainted their desire to attempt change of any sort. Plenty of HR professionals out there who would tell people that you need to get rid of these people and replace them. For me, I am more interested in how these people are created and how to break them from the mold and push them to perform again. It is not just for the company either. These are most likely the people, who at an earlier time, took great pleasure in their work. In one of my college english classes I was told that "mysogenists were almost always disallusioned romantics". In many ways it is the same way with disallusioned high performers they end up not coping with stress well and hating their work because the pleasure they once recieved from the work is no longer there. All they have is the bad aspects of their job with no intrinsic reward.

As an HR professional it is extremely frustrating to talk to these individuals because usually these people are the ones I most respect and admire for their knowledge and experience. They are the people I often go to for advice as well. But, when faced with beauracratic or organizational obstacles, they simply throw up their hands and stop pursuing success. They know that they are being set up to fail and they often know the changes needed to fix things but, somehow they feel like they will be betrayed and punished for attempting such an action. One of the most sad things is that, most often, this is only a perception and not the truth of how the organization will react. There will always be organizational resistance to change, but where some people get energized at the prospect of overcoming these obstacles, these people become frustrated and worn down by it.

I have had the fortunate opportunity to be backed by my leaders as I sought significant change in an organization that I knew was needed or made decisions that were controversial. In return, I have supported my supervisors when they made decisions or changes. When leaders lose that support they simply begin to "go through the motions" and maintain the status quo without adding anything to your organization.

One of the first things I do when I take over a leadership position is talk to my leadership and ask them "What are the biggest obstacles to doing your job?" I do this relatively quick so that I they will see me as not having a stake in the status quo. I talk with them about their issues and when I find agreement with them I act quickly to resolve the problems they are faced with....or task them to fix it and let me know how it works. Most importantly I FOLLOW UP soon after to see if their perceptions are the same or not on what their real issue is. This immediately sets the tone that I will support their ideas and vision and value their perspective. I hope this also allows me to be more approachable in the future when other issues arise. Even small results garner a lot of respect. Food for thought if you are starting a new job or attempting change somewhere.