Kill the Spotlight Ranger

UrbanDictionary.com defines “Spotlight Ranger” as “someone who only performs when a superior observes them; not a team player. From US Army Ranger school slang for a student who doesn’t give his all unless he is the one being evaluated on a mission - i.e., he only performs in the spotlight.”

Sadly, the military is far from being the only organization I’ve seen that suffers from Spotlight Personnel.?

Spotlight Employees are so common it’s scary. Seemingly every organization has that person, or worse, persons, who don’t contribute.?

Somehow they skate by and continue to draw a paycheck. One of the main excuses I hear justifying non-performers is what I’ve termed the “nice” excuse.?

“That’s just the way they are…”?

“Oh, I know Ed does nothing but surf Facebook all day and fall asleep in meetings, but he’s a nice guy.”?

“I know you can’t get Becky in HR to answer the phone, but she’s REALLY nice and has to have her hourly 20 min smoke break. I’m sure the questions about your kid’s insurance can wait.”?

“Sure, Frank has never typed an email in his life, but that’s cool, he’s a nice guy, and email is overrated.”

Nothing derails a team’s motivation faster than a non-contributing member. Additionally, workload inequity leads to massive amounts of internal workplace drama and gossip.?

I’ve seen it too many times, and it’s an ugly truth, but we must learn to separate business from personal.?

Where is personal accountability today? Holding someone you are paying accountable for lack of performance does not make you the bad guy.

On the contrary, I’ll argue by taking steps to ensure you have a great environment and corporate culture; you will enamor yourself with the non-Spotlight employees who pull their weight daily.?

At this point, you are probably picturing someone you work with - someone who rarely pulls their weight and always seems to go home early. Despite being a horrid team member, the person manages to fool management regularly.?

Have them pictured??

The answer to the question you’re asking yourself is: yes, they do it deliberately.?

Why? You won’t like the answer, but it’s because we let them.?

It doesn’t feel “nice,” but take a moment and separate personal from professional. Once you do, you will realize people who willfully and knowingly draw a paycheck while watching others work are not “nice” at all.?

Here is my advice. Maintain standards and hold all employees to the same standard.?

Once you do, and once your employees know you will enforce the standards, it is incredible the difference you’ll see.?

Do what you can to make yours the best possible workplace it can be. Work doesn’t have to be painful.?

Quit letting the lazy in your organization walk all over you and enforce the same standards for all.

Please take notice of all the employees working diligently in the shadows and make sure to reward their contributions as well.

Scott Kinder, 2022