Hangers On Hanging Out

Every now and then you'll have employees who try to make a name for themselves by attaching themselves to every project in sight but not really doing any work.

Don't encourage this.

Their plan is simple: they want to get their name out in front of their bosses as much as possible so they become one of "those people" whom everyone knows. And so, they volunteer to "help" with a lot of different projects.

Now, with all the "quotation marks" around "various phrases" in "these paragraphs,' you can infer that I'm being a little "sarcastic." These folks aren't really trying to help anything, of course, other than themselves. They don't really do any work, but they make a lot of noise to make it look like they are. And in the end, when credit goes out or further opportunities arise, they're hoping to be in there with the people who really did put in the effort.

You need to shut these people down, because they're not just annoying, they can actually be detrimental to individual projects and to the firm as a whole. At the same time, you need to get them to channel their energy into real work, or else leave the company.

Why are these hangers-on such a problem? Well, they get in the way of people who are doing the real work and end up slowing things down. They often insist on getting reports from everybody else so they "know what's going on" and supposedly can contribute, but it's all for show. Not only do they slow things down, they may actually knock things off course when they feel the need to contribute ideas in order to look important, ideas that are based on only the most shallow understanding of the project, and thus probably aren't that great, but may end up getting incorporated. And yes, they can cause a morale problem that will have long term effects on your other employees. Nobody likes to see a slacker getting credit for work they didn't do, so if you reward (or even just ignore) this behavior, you're making more trouble for yourself in the long run.

What do you do with them? First, you need to pull them aside and tell them that, while you appreciate their motivation and enthusiasm for working on so many projects, you need them to focus their energy on something more specific. Assign them something that they're qualified to do, be clear about your expectations, then step back and let them do it. If they can do what you asked them to do, try to keep them focused on their own work and not everyone else's. If it turns out, though (as it too often does) that they aren't really prepared to take responsibility for their own work, then you need to look at letting them go. People like this get in the way of talented, motivated Creatives, and you really don't need them around.

In the end, you have people who want to work, and people who only want credit for work. The first kind of employee offers you a lot of benefits, the second kind brings nothing but pain. In order to focus your attention on the first kind (which is where you make your profits) you need to either fix, or get rid of, the second kind. Whatever you do, don't let them get away with it.

Don't Copy a Style...Create One

Creatives know that copying someone else's work is uncool. It may also be illegal, but to a true Creative that's far less important than the lack of ethics displayed by a copycat.

When it comes to leaders, you shouldn't copy either, but for different reasons.

When you take business classes, when you read books on leadership, and when you talk to your peers, you're going to be exposed to plenty of examples based on other people's experiences. You'll also hear lots of broad-based lessons, or fundamental principles that may help you. But you can't just take other people's experiences or a bunch of generic concepts and plug then into your firm and expect the same results. You're different from them, and your employees are different from theirs.

The trick is to take those ideas you think are useful and figure out how they apply to your situation. This means you can't just study leadership; you also need to study your firm. Also, as you try to implement the lessons you learn, realize that you may need to adjust as you go along. Be open with others about what you're trying to accomplish so you can get their feedback. What sounds like a great idea in the classroom may not be so great in the office.

When I was in Afghanistan in 2007, mentoring the faculty at a university in Kabul, they made it clear they wanted to adopt the structure and curriculum of a top American university as their own. I carefully pointed out to them that most of their faculty only had a bachelor's degree and they had very few textbooks written in Dari. Plus, universities in the US aren't dealing with an insurgency that threatens the country, and American students aren't worried about whether their village back home has been attacked. The differences between the two environments are just so different that taking an American style and plugging it into an Afghani university would be insane. And so, we found a happy medium: a curriculum and faculty structure that improved their capabilities, but in a way they could actually achieve.

My travels in Asia the last week have revealed a lot of interest in Western styles of leadership, especially the evolving ideas about how to lead in a knowledge economy. What I've suggested to these young, emerging leaders is that they not try to just copy the American style of doing things. What we do in the US doesn't necessarily work in Hong Kong or Thailand or Singapore...or even in Canada or England You need to consider the context in which you're trying to apply these lessons, and part of that context is the culture in which you, your employees, your peers, and your bosses were raised. People can't just shrug off years of culturalization simply to meet the demands of a new book on management practices.

Yes, you need to learn, but more importantly, you need to learn how to make it work.

Personal Credibility

In the military, when it comes to dealing with senior leaders (some of whom may not be perfect, believe it or not) there's an idea that "you don't have to respect the person, but you have to respect the rank." A similar concept holds true in private business: while employees might not respect a leader, they should respect that person's position and authority. So even a poor leader will have people doing what he or she wants, simply because that person is in a certain position of responsibility.

But wouldn't life be much better if they actually DID respect the person?

Your credibility with your Creatives is an important factor in getting them to perform at their highest levels. Following somebody because they WANT to leads your Creatives to better performance than following somebody because they HAVE to. If you can get people to do things only because of your position, well, that's good. But if you can get them to do things because they want to, that's SO much better. Your personal credibility with your employees goes a long way toward making a better environment for creative work.

So how do you get that credibility? Establishing it in creative fields may be a bit different than in other industries, and each particular field -- in fact, each particular company -- might require something different from you. But here are a few ideas to get you started.

Talent Creatives have talent, they know what's possible, and so they're more likely to follow someone else who displays comparable, or better, talent. You might have a different skill set but you need to be able to hold your own in creative endeavors, whatever the medium.

Ethics If people don't trust you, they won't follow you. If you're dishonest, good employees won't want to associate with you because they don't want to get dragged down when you get caught. Plus, if you'll cheat or lie to other people, they figure you'll do the same to them. People want a leader who is open and honest with them.

Communication Be open with people and don't hold back. If employees know you'll be straight with them, and will be accessible to them, they won't question you behind your back. Also remember that down-top communication is as important as top-down communication. They need to know they can come to you with small problems before they turn into big ones.

Respect Respect is a two-way street. If you want it, you have to give it. Just as you deserve a certain respect based on your position, so do your Creatives. Don't ignore their skills or what they have to offer, don't treat them like children or slaves, and take the time to learn what will make each employee perform at their highest level.

In talking with people in Asia this past week I've heard a number of people say that, while tradition and custom demands a certain level of respect for people in positions of authority, that hasn't often led to the best results. As leaders here start to break away from that traditional idea, and work to earn the respect of their employees, their employees' creative output is improving.

Your firm's performance is directly proportional to your credibility. Don't get the idea that, simply because you've attained a certain position in a company, everyone will do exactly what you say to the best of their ability. If you have that attitude, you might not keep that position for very long. And truthfully, you shouldn't.