Leaders my leaders, welcome back!
Let’s continue our discussion of the categories of trouble that can bring serious strife into your personal and professional life, and shipwreck your leadership career.
4) Drama Stagers. These folks are the ones who create particularly crazy making environments. Work is a theater to them, a stage upon which to act out their moods, whims, and issues. They are well aware of their behaviors and they calculate how to use it to gain an advantage at the expense of those around them. They did not necessarily grow up in an addicted family, nor do they necessarily have any other kind of psychological problem. The defining characteristic of drama stagers is that they choose to continue acting in destructive ways because of the benefits it provides them. They can be merciless, and have no problem sacrificing other people and what is important to them. These folks have an inflexible narrative about themselves and the world. They will do anything to preserve, protect, and defend that narrative. They constantly scan for threats, challenges, or violations of their narrative. Essentially, they have decided what their life should be like and assigned the rest of us roles that support their desired objective. We are almost always unaware of our role, but we still get punished when we don’t play our part. Drama stagers attack people, not problems. They don’t want problems to be fixed, that is not their point. Spinning people in chaotic circles is the point. Drama stagers are weapons of mass disruption in the work environment, creating upheaval where there had been none before.
5) Immaturity. These people simply haven’t grown up yet. Perhaps they are lacking in skills, perhaps it is their choice. Whatever the reason, they cause plenty of chaos in the workplace because they do not handle themselves in a mature, professional manner. They are the people who ridicule, gossip, bully, harass, and otherwise show off for their buddies by being completely obnoxious. I refer to this as the arm-fart stage of development, because it is behavior typically found in a junior high cafeteria. Immature people also throw temper tantrums. Their emotional management skills are at a toddler’s level of development. They are easily insulted, offended, and angered. They can be verbally abusive, slam doors, throw things, and otherwise act out to get their way. They have adolescent style fits of rebelling and defying normal workplace protocols. These are the chronic slackers, whiners, and socializers. They cause a great deal of disruption in the workplace, all of it designed to raise their social stock or shirk responsibility.
Next week we’ll cover two other areas that can really trip us up personally and professionally. Until then, take a good honest look at the five major areas of trouble. If you recognize yourself in any of them, then it’s time to set about the hard work of changing so that you can do right by your team, your organization, and perhaps most importantly, yourself.
