We got a tough question recently.
“What do you do about people who are not aligned to the interests of the organization?”
Here, David provides an answer and is looking for your thoughts. What would you do?
I got a tough question recently. I wonder what you guys think about it? Because I’m not sure I had a very good answer.
The question was, “What do you do about people who are not aligned to the interests of the organization?” And the example was – end of a shift healthcare situation, I asked the person (I, as the doctor) asked the person to stay on past shift. They said, “No, my time’s up.” And went home.
And it was frustrating. Now, that’s probably not the way I personally live my life. But people will bound work by time and intellectual contribution. “Hey, I just want to show up, do what I’m told. Go home.” That’s fine. We have to help people be successful the way they are (we, as leaders), the way they want to be successful, not the way I want them to be successful.
Now, as long as the compensation is appropriately matched to their contribution, and this is certainly, I don’t think, as valuable as someone who’s giving their full intellectual capabilities and are willing to go the extra mile. But in the organization, if we take those shortcuts, and we’re not forced to deal with, say, ‘we don’t have enough people,’ it actually ends up badly in the long run.
In the Navy, we had two fatal accidents in the Pacific in the last couple of years. Partly because commanders were unwilling to say, “We’re at the limit, I can’t do that.” And it didn’t send the appropriate signal back to Congress who appropriates money for ships and people. And as a result, trying to do more and more and more with the same amount – and there were other problems too, this wasn’t the only thing – but in the long run, it actually doesn’t, it doesn’t help us build an organization that is properly structured.
So let me know what you think about this. I’m David Marquet. That’s your Leadership Nudge.
