When Good Becomes Bad- Attitudes that Cause Unexpected Employee Problems

Surprisingly enough, even good behaviors amongst your employees could lead to bad results.

But how can this happen? Isn’t good behavior the foundation of every successful company? Yes, it is.

However, good behaviors are more likely to result in poor performance and other employee problems when employees are forced to work in an environment where values are often stretched, or forgotten. This type of culture is present when leaders promote worthy values, and then set up a barricade that prevents their employees from actually following those values.

Classic Example – Integrity is Compromised

A business consistently promotes integrity in the workplace. When one of the accounts they handle failed to perform as expected; Ben, the manager handling the account, asked the data analyst to alter the reports to hide the poor performance from the clients. This one incident can lead to many employee problems because the staff will see this as a violation of the company rules, yet they might be afraid to take action against the manager. That data analyst may tell others what they were asked to do and they may have no issues with the request.

Here are the Types of Good Behavior that could affect the Company Negatively:

Optimism that could lead to False Hope

Being optimistic is normally a good thing, but when a company isn’t doing well; hearing that everything will be okay from a leader is not going to help your employees and the business. Employee problems arise when the company leaders live in a fantasy, believing that everything will turn out fine and the problems would eventually work themselves out. Problems don’t fix themselves; the whole company has to work as a team to resolve them.

Success that can lead to complacency.

Yes, success is a good thing, and it can lead to complacency. Things are pumping along, business is coming in the door, customers and employees are happy. AND we unwittingly stop doing all the things that made us successful in the first place. We as an organization and individuals become complacent.

Commitment to Reaching Deadlines

Meeting a deadline doesn’t always signify competency and productivity. In some cases, even a diligent and deadline-obsessed employee could create a disaster. Employee problems arise from an office where deadlines are the law. When this happens, your staff will keep doing what they are doing, even if it isn’t correct- just so they can reach the deadline. Even your product or service’s quality will be sacrificed by employees who don’t want to tell their supervisor that they need more time.

Being Competitive

Having a competitive attitude is usually seen as good behavior; however, this isn’t always the case in a company. When departments and employees start competing with each other, this may stop them from working together to achieve a common goal. Instead, they focus on themselves, often at the expense of others and the team. Promote a healthy, competitive environment in your office where everybody wins because of his or her efforts.

Too much Eagerness to Please Upper Management

Employees who want to be liked try hard to please their co-workers or leaders. This can be seen as good behavior, but this desire to please management may be seen by other employees as brown-nosing, and maybe unethical. Good team dynamics go out the window.

Staying on a Budget

Companies like it when a project comes in within budget, or leaders adequately manage their budget. However, minimizing an expense isn’t always the best way to go. This was clearly seen in the oil spill disaster in the Gulf that was a result of a safety shortcut. Sometimes, it is better to spend more than you have to in order to avoid future problems, which could be even costlier and difficult to repair.

Bonuses for Performance

Bonuses for performance are a good thing if they are structured well. A few years ago I worked with a company where the EVP of Marketing’s bonus was based on how much less of his budget he spent. Whatever he didn’t spend went to him as a bonus (with some limitations and caps). There was no incentive for him personally to spend money on staff development, additional staffing, or other areas that were not required for him to run the department. A good idea that wasn’t implemented well.

Good behavior is a good thing, only if the company operates in a healthy work environment. You can avoid tons of employee problems by briefing your management and staff on ideal behaviors from time to time. Make sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to good and bad behavior. And assess regularly how even good behavior can have negative consequences, and what to do about it.

Functioning Together: Moving Your Team from Ordinary to Extraordinary will give you ideas on how to get the team you want. Download it at the link below.

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Linda Finkle

Executives and top performers in leading companies rely on Executive Coach Linda Finkle to call them on their blind spots, expand their influence, and create bigger things for themselves and the companies they lead. High-achieving professionals from Ameriprise, Mass Mutual, Blue Cross Blue Shield, major law firms, and dozens of others have come to know Linda as their secret weapon to overcome leadership and communication challenges that stand in their way of making an even bigger impact.

Linda is described as ‘the best of both worlds in that she understands revenue pipeline management as well as running organization day-to-day’ and ‘an invaluable resource and advisor’ by others. No matter how they describe her, clients regularly welcome the benefits that come from their work together. Most notably, clients’ gross revenues skyrocketed, communication skills have been refined creating a lasting ripple effect across the organization, allowing them to make bigger impacts at work and in their personal lives, and learn smarter ways of adding value without burning out.

Known for her great rapport and relationship-focused demeanor, she is often called direct and has a truth-telling way about her. Linda Finkle has coached and trained more than 2,000 leaders in six countries since 2001. Widely known as “The Elephant Chaser”, Linda has a reputation for going straight for the throat of whatever problems a business is having and working closely with leaders and managers to resolve them and to heighten the company’s overall performance. Whether working one-on-one with clients, as an inspiring speaker, as a leadership team facilitator, or with partnerships in distress, Linda is committed to guiding clients to clarity about their communications, behaviors, and stumbling blocks that stand in the way of their effectiveness.

Before launching Incedo Group, LLC, Linda built and managed an executive recruiting firm for more than twenty years. Her recruitment agency identified talent for Fortune 500 companies and small to mid-sized businesses as well and ranked among the top 10 recruiting firms in the country. Her ability to understand the corporate culture and needs of the company for both the long and short term ensured her clients returned time and again. Even today, clients and candidates from her recruiting days reach out to her for advice, help, and guidance.

Her ability to build trust immediately, her powers of perception and intuition, along with her tactful and direct style, create a space that allows clients to share their truth and receive the feedback they won’t hear from anyone else. It is exactly what they need to make changes to catapult their leadership and companies in powerful ways.