over a bottle of wine and great food, a few former corporate types (and me) got together today. i raised the two questions that were put to the “work shouldn’t suck” blog last week.
1) what to do about an employee who “bad mouths” the organization. uh-oh. after the hysterical laughing around the table a few clear answers came up.
a. what was the TV show that coined the phrase “OH GROW UP!” ?
b. put your big girl/boy pants on and get over it.
c. WTF is “bad mouthing” in a corporation? is this junior high school?
d. why waste time listening to gossip? it’s so unproductive. if an employee has an issue, ask them. or they tell you, listen. if you’re not listening then they’ll tell others. and they’ll tell others. and so on. guess who really created the mess?
e. how much truth is there in the “bad mouthing”? bet you’ll find some. deal with it.
f. use it. use it to grow. use it to change. use it to prove them wrong.
g. get over it you pansy. (no one knew what to say if it was a female manager that was insulting enough. general consensus was the writer was a male. we don’t think a woman would use the term “bad mouthing”. but we could be wrong)
2) the writer was certain they’d been clear with direction, but the employees didn’t get it.
a. oh boy. were you looking for someone to blame? cause you’ve missed some boat somewhere somehow. we don’t know what where or how. but you should seek out professional help.
b. pretty much, the question alone leads us to the original conclusion…get with a management consultant that can guide you. you may need some professional assessment for your skills and your team. but we know that you can find the right answers if you are open. fully present. and choose to learn from these experiences.
good luck!
