What is the 6 month itch?

When a person gets a new job, there are a lot of conflicting emotions.

The joy of a new challenge, the satisfaction of knowing that they did an interview better than anybody else.?In fact, they have managed to convince somebody that they are the right person to take on that new responsibility.?Exciting times!

But, at the same time, there is the stress and anxiety of moving to a new company or team or even a new position within the same team.?The fear that they are not good enough, that they will be found out, that they simply don’t know what they are doing.

It’s called Imposter Syndrome and it is very common and actually quite normal.?The person keeps their head down, they listen, they learn, they take the advice of others on board.?It is a fabulous honeymoon period.

Often, it can suddenly stops.?There is no reason why, but it does.?If you have ever managed new starters into a new role or team, then you will know what I mean.

Inexplicably at some time between the 5th and the 8th month, the landscape shifts and as a Manager you suddenly have a new challenge.

I like to call it the ‘6 month itch’ (there is probably a better name for it!)

Your employee starts talking with real authority about their job.

They start to make suggestions.

Lots of positive things happen, but there is one big negative that can happen (and it doesn’t in every case)?Your employee becomes impervious to feedback.?

And know how to do the job much better than anybody else in the Company or anybody that has ever lived.?As their Line Manager, you are told that your experience is now invalid and that times have changed and you are living on past glories (it’s actually like having a teenager at home).

At some point, you are led to believe that the student has become the master.

So, what exactly has happened?

A psychological shift that can be quite damaging and lead to a marked stagnation!

The employee has spent about 6 months in the job and has now grasped enough of the fundamentals to feel confident.

Nobody has found them out, nobody has realised that they didn’t know what they were doing.

People are going to them for advice, in fact they are the expert in everything which is related to their job.

They don’t need feedback any more.?They have been doing fine without it up until now, or they have taken everything on board that they were told, so they have nothing left to learn.

It is often at this point that they might even ask for a pay rise as clearly the company couldn’t function without them – they are irreplaceable and worth far more money than they agreed to just a short while ago!

It’s dangerous because they will stop challenging themselves.

It’s dangerous because they will look at ways to cut corners to get the same results.

It’s dangerous as they won’t take any feedback on board.?They truly believe that there is nothing that anybody can tell them about their job or subject any more.

If this was truly the case, then there would be no innovation and after 6 months of Physiotherapy training, I could become a Physiotherapist.

So, how do you handle this type of situation?

You’ve spent 6 months building their confidence, telling them that they are doing a great job, you’ve been impressed with how they have grasped the role.

Now you have to unwind all of this to make them listen to you.

You have to be honest and continue the dialogue and conversation.?If you have built a good rapport and working relationship, you would be able to spot this when it starts to rear its head.

You’ll be able to nip it in the bud before it becomes a big thing.?

If you can recognise when it starts to happen, then dialogue is so important.?Your employee will start to challenge themselves and not rest on their laurels.

There will be a culture of continuous improvement that can only benefit all concerned.

Talking and a consistent performance management approach is how to ensure that all momentum is not suddenly lost.

It’ll be tough, but they will have to listen!

In my experience if you leave it unchecked, it will grow.?It will become something that becomes a problem.?It might even lead to you looking for another person to replace the one you already have?

Why??Because they have stopped taking feedback and started adapting the role to the way that they think it should be done.?If you work in Compliance or Audit, you’re not following the very things that you are supposed to be checking!

A performance review will follow where you give them feedback and the end of year rating is discussed.?Rarely is it as good as they think it should be.

And they are left feeling disappointed and let down as the pay increment that they receive is not what they were hoping.

They start to feel unvalued and unappreciated, you get Performance Management issues and then the cycle starts again.

Look out for the signs and deal with them as you go along.?If you don’t, you will allow a monster to be created!

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