**This was presented at Austin Product Camp 19; August 19, 2017**
This is largely a primer on the broader topic of how to assess and navigate LEIPs in our teams. Specifically, I discuss how we use "safe words" to protect and defer conversations about LEIPs, how we tend to keep them at the periphery of the engagement conversation, and how we largely over-identify LEIPs and miss developing ourselves and teams.
3. Emotional Intelligence
the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's
emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously
and empathetically.
4. Key Points
• LEIPs hide in plain sight behind “safe-words”
• LEIPs need to be moved to the core of the engagement conversation
• Managing LEIPs is largely hindered by corporate and personal taboos
• We tend to casually classify people as LEIPs and disengage them vs.
truly assessing the facts
7. The Proto-LEIPs
Brilliant Jerk
Overinflated sense of self-worth
Sense of entitlement
Deserves special treatment
Arrogant, condescending
Chases fantasies, fails at goals
Others feel used / exploited
Diva
Craves center of attention (+/-)
Full of drama
Excessively emotional
Flamboyant, theatrical
Flighty, fickle
Suggestible, easily influenced
Disingenuous, insincere
Bulldog
Hostile, aggressive
Creates risky situations
Deceptive, manipulative
Intimidating, bullying
Sheds responsibility / blames
others
No genuine remorse / adept at
feigning it
8. The Proto-LEIPs
Narcissistic
Overinflated sense of self-worth
Sense of entitlement
Deserves special treatment
Arrogant, condescending
Chases fantasies, fails at goals
Others feel used / exploited
Histrionic
Craves center of attention (+/-)
Full of drama
Excessively emotional
Flamboyant, theatrical
Flighty, fickle
Suggestible, easily influenced
Disingenuous, insincere
Antisocial
Hostile, aggressive
Creates risky situations
Deceptive, manipulative
Intimidating, bullying
Sheds responsibility / blames
others
No genuine remorse / adept at
feigning it
DSM-IV, Cluster B Personality Disorders
9. Uncomfortable Truths
• Its easier for us to use these euphemisms / safe-words than engage
the undesirable behavior
• LEIPs create psychological tension / unease within those around them
• The words we use in our vocabulary regulate our ability to address
our culture
12. Response To LEIPs
• I am demotivated
• I resent that they are
allowed to continue their
bad behavior, that
negatively affects the team
• I wonder when
management will act;
wonder when management
will listen to what people
are saying.
Disengage
67%
Engage
26%
Neutral
7%
Co-Worker Response To LEIPs
13. Uncomfortable Truths
• Teams cant successfully “self-organize” themselves out of the pain
LEIPs cause
• Working with LEIPs challenges our own Emotional Intelligence
• Managers typically rationalize their disengagement
• LEIPs have genius-level self-preservation skills
15. Performance is #1
• They are so innovative
• They are the only person who can do that
• They are critical for blah blah blah
• We say “how” we achieve results is as important as what results we
achieve, but…
• They did that important thing so long ago
• They are always the hero
16. If You Cant Develop Them, You Fail
Idiosyncrasies LEIPsWayward Souls
Develop yourself
Change a life
Hold to Account & Exit
Frequency
Effort
17. Uncomfortable Truths
• Empathy / engagement fatigue is real
• Fatigue plays a role in how well we assess and manage the facts
• LEIPs are typically isolated to be a specific manager’s problem, when
they are really a company problem
Agile Teams Value: trust | openness | merit-based discourse
Millennial Workforce Value: Transparency | Meaning | Harmony | Autonomy | Trust
Hierarchical command and control is anathema
This is the raw emotion
Most people aren’t going to use these words publically, so we create safe words to proxy for what we really feel
So what are the safe words?
Borderline (omitted)
Narcissistic
Histrionic
Antisocial
What are the distinctions between personality disorders and personality traits
Omni present
Repeated negative impact to functionality
There is nothing more real than being in the deep end of the emotional / personality pool.
We get into an extraordinarily complex and uncomfortable situation here because its not reasonable to think that every manager has the ability / training to manage LEIPs
We might have empathy fatigue
Euphemisms are signals of social discomfort
Getting angry is a natural response, but its not a productive one
If I only ever call people bull dogs or divas, then I am never addressing the issue of bad culture
SOURCE: http://www.dalecarnegie.com/employee-engagement/engaged-employees-infographic/
What is the relationship between the direct manager / senior leadership team and LEIPs
You promote what you permit
QUESTION: if a Bulldog and a Rockstar get the same treatment, what should I infer?
REAL
SAFE
CARE
2/3 take disengaging actions
Only ¼
Peer coaching and influence requires exceptionally high emotional intelligence on each side
Some responses are downright full or anger and pain. LEIPs have a unique way of bring people down into the mire with them
What genius do you think they have?
Manipulation
Strategic alliances
Controlling the narrative
Rationalizations
This is too hard
This isn’t my problem
Why do I have to deal with this
But they are such a top performer
Other people don’t have a problem
Zombies are an appropriate analogy: they are slow, insidious, we fear them, they are a looming threat
Assess and identify
Commit to your approach (develop or depart)
Execute behavioral coaching
