There is a rich spectrum of self-sabotage in the government contracting, competitive bidding, strategy, and partnerships space. I'm sure grants work similarly.
While the tapestry is rich and goes on for miles and miles, there are archetypes and molds that people tend to fall into:
- The Defeated Giant. Definitely has the past performance and resume to make large moves, but has a defeatist, unconfident tone. This worries potential partners, who decide to not take the risk with such a caustic pessimism in the air.
- The Myopic Worrier. Has a bid due tomorrow but wants minor details reworked because they're worried. The good feeling of quick fixes (to temporarily relieve this worry) is a trap because the bigger picture gets ignored.
- The Eager Spectator. Wants to get started with exploring bids, but doesn't want to spend money. These types are merely spectating and found everywhere.
- The Lazy Winner. Gets an award recommendation but doesn't follow up, fight for contract monies or task orders (in the case of a bench contract), and basically lets it drop.
- The Fastest Quote Maker In The West. Gets the award and task order, but doesn't ask pertinent questions prior to jamming a quote down the buyer's neck. Acts surprised when the buyer goes with the more informed vendor/quote.
- And last but not least, The Person Yelling Inside a Bank. We've all seen these types of people who act in bizarre fashion around authorities or customer service representatives... Following procedure is challenging and they want it done their way. Yelling (or any aggression at all) is not tolerated and will blow up the project.
Most self-sabotage can be reversed once its given attention, but not many people enjoy the discomfort of bringing these traits to the surface. Calling out the Lazy Winner or the Eager Spectator takes time, requires getting the diagnoses correct, and demands empathy.
How to frame the critique around their "process" versus character is another challenge.
The non-sabotaged do the following:
- Give room for planning, encourage a time for prep, and allow the human tacticians involved time for researching, building excitement, etc. They understand that skipping the line and jumping straight into 'production' mode will likely result in bad outputs and low engagement.
- They amass an excess of staffing resources, committed people, and talent. Not having enough people to support an implementation, with very few exceptions, is a sabotaging move - especially when nationwide candidate searches are more common, contractor numbers are growing, and so forth. I've seen qualified contractor lists grow from 0-100 in a couple weeks.
- They know how to ask questions to produce the best outcomes: "What should I expect with X or Y?" or "What should I prioritize right now?" are common questions he/she puts in front of experts. They know that people with accumulated knowledge have a certain predictive ability within their disciplines or niches... Which is a blessing! The people who sabotage early and often are usually cut off from this predictive wellspring.
One constant you start to see: Non-sabotaging people value and respect another's gifts.
