A vote for the squeaky wheels

To be clear...I'm not talking about cars...but to the people that work in organizations that haven't really figured themselves out yet and have trouble finding their way around.

We've all worked with someone that is hard to work with, comes across as overly negative or doesn't have the emotional intelligence (yet) to navigate a tricky conversations or manage stress well. Too many people like this become emotional resignations that ultimately impact productivity and come with a cost overhead.

strong job performance...rarely means a person is suddenly equiped to manage a team of people.

Promotion doesn't mean ready to lead

For a small company like a startup...the overwhelming consensus is to fire fast (if labour laws allow...looking at you New York) as you simply don't have the luxury of managing someone for a drawn out period and the impact to others could really harm the company.

But if you're in a larger team or do have to meaningfully manage someones performance...It might also make sense to look what capabilities that persons manager has to effectively coach them. After all, companies promote through strong job performance...but that rarely means that person is suddenly also equiped to manage a team of people.

it's important for everyone to figure out how they function the best.

Things that can work

For the people in your office that do great work, are strong contributors...but every now and then say/do something unprofessiobal or come across like an $sshole...here are some things to try.

1. Ask them directly - What is going on that is preventing you from giving your best? Or "You seem kind of down, what's going on?
2. Strength through solidarity - EVERYONE makes mistakes at work and part of being a jerk at work comes down to people feel disconnected. By sharing a story of a time that you embarrassed yourself and how you grew from it builds confidence in others.
3. Learn to regulate through understanding - Our minds and bodies are incredible things but few are taught how to regulate them well after leaving school. Sleep, exercise, diet, energy, gut/brain connection, body languate and conversational skills tend to get left out of the curriculum and absorbed somewhere down the track of life. There are some great books on this (DM me for links) but otherwise, it's important for everyone to figure out how they function the best.

In closing

So next time you find yourself at work and there is a squeaky wheel, or at least someone that could be an awesome team member but just needs some solidarity or guidance, let support and intelligent and careful leadership and coaching come before a performance improvement plan or even worse...a pink slip.