On Board the Wrong Vessel?, by Nike ONI

Do you sometimes worry about members of your team who seem not to be fully involved and contributing their best to the team? For some reason their attitude and delivery seems to be below expectations and a far cry from other team members. What should we do with such team members, what options are available to us as leaders of such teams seeking to build our dream team and achieve our dreams? What options are available to such team members, and what can leaders and other colleagues do to support such team members?

One of the realities of people that are constantly struggling with their tasks within a team may be related to the fact that they are perhaps on the wrong vessel, on the wrong team, and doing a task that doesn’t bring out the best in them or working with a group of people in the team that do not complement them.

Team members who realize that they are on the wrong vessel are left with two options – firstly to acquire the competencies required to succeed in the team, or secondly to leave the team, and pursue their talents and interests elsewhere. The decision lies with such team members, and they must be cognisant of the fact that their underperformance affects team morale and performance, and therefore need to be honest and up-front about their weaknesses. The rest of us in the team, including its leadership should engage with such a person, identify the option chosen, and provide the necessary support for the decision and the path chosen.

Personally, I recall that while trying to get into the University, I couldn’t get my preferred course, and had to settle for something else. Though I reluctantly accepted it, I hoped I will get an opportunity to change later on. As the years rolled by I ended up graduating in this course, and remember how I received a lot of encouragement from my colleagues who knew that I wasn’t naturally cut out for it, but encouraged me nonetheless to persevere. I am grateful for the encouragement, and the success that it helped me achieve.

Should you decide to pursue the first option like I did with the support of your team, you must ask critical questions about the competencies required to succeed in that role, honestly appraise yourself against such competencies, and develop a road map for addressing the gaps. It will be a decision that will require a great amount of learning agility and a willingness to fail forward. You must also understand that like all decisions, yours will come with consequences. Until you reach your level of proficiency, you may continue to struggle with lower performance ratings, lower rewards than your other high-flying team mates, and much more hard work to put in. The trick however is to understand that the more you put in with the right attitude, the more likely you will overcome in a shorter time.

Leaders and colleagues should provide the support and reinforcement required to help you through this journey. As you make great strides, their applause and commendations will be a source of encouragement, and where you make mistakes their constructive criticism should bring out the best in you. To get this kind of support from your team and your leaders, it means that you must openly acknowledge and accept your shortcomings and reach out to them for help. Pretending that all is well and being in denial about your challenges will not engender the kind of support required from colleagues when you are aboard the wrong vessel.

The end of the year and the beginning of a new one are a good time to reflect on our journey so far to determine which members of our teams or indeed ourselves are on the wrong vessel. As described above, the decisions made and our commitments to these decisions will go a long way in determining the quality of our performance as a team in the years to come.

Give a Compliment in Public

The secrets of making the most out of the most important relationships in your life – at work, home and in our social lives are not far-fetched. In fact they are no secrets at all. If you want to unlock these secrets, a good place to start will be writing down all the things that make you feel good and lifted. I am quite sure that your long list will no doubt include – “being paid a real compliment in front of others”. Everyone loves to feel good, accepted and important from time to time, and when someone passes a real compliment about us in public, it makes us feel better, lifts our spirits and brings out the best in us.

So, why look any further in your search to bring out the best in your spouse, children, colleagues, subordinates, friends or bosses – find a real and positive thing about them, and take the next opportunity you have them to make a complimentary remark about them in public.

On a personal level, I have seen a number of leaders use this very well to make their people feel important and treasured, but I have also observed many leaders who never pay public compliments, sometimes for their own insecurities or just because they have not discovered how powerful and lifting such compliments can be. A few people I have met believe that complimenting people in private should suffice, and that there is an undertone of “trumpet blowing” and “hype” associated with public compliments. Granted that it does create a bit of hype and blows the person’s trumpet, we must realize that it is a lot better than those who blow their trumpets themselves and are continuous paying compliments to themselves in public.

Public compliments should also not be mistaken with sycophancy, which is another social ill. The line between being complimentary and sycophancy becomes clearer when the public praise is repeated, out of context or even completely untrue. Like all things even our use of public praise should be done with moderation, if not the sycophancy behind it will become obvious to all who are watching.

Our human nature sometimes pre-disposes us to sometimes only see the bad side of people, and it takes a really concerted effort to find value in our relationships especially as we battle and struggle through life. No matter how small or insignificant, even the most difficult of subordinates or bosses have some positive value that we can identify and compliment in public. The benefits are clear - just cast your minds back to a time when someone really important in your life made a public declaration of your competence. It has happened to me, and believe me, it made me feel really good!

If you sense that your relationships – at home, work and socially have been a bit strained, switch gears today, and pay a real public compliment to someone that matters, because – People Matter!