Do you have to be bad to be noticed?
This post is part of the group writing project “What I learned from Colourful Characters”hosted by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings
If you are a manager think about the people in your team that get the most attention? On balance do you focus more on the the ones that don’t cause you any trouble?
I heard a young person being interviewed on TV about why he got into trouble and he said it was to get attention…and of course it worked! Luckily he had worked out that the kind of attention he got was not entirely positive and he was now making some different choices.
So when thinking about the “colourful characters” that I have encountered in my working life – and there have been many ( I am wondering what that says about me!) I started from the premise that colourful = badly behaved. And to be fair – that was often the case. But most for most of them the bad behaviour was accepted as part of their overall persona.
Sometimes they would challenge the norm – speak up and demand to be heard when they thought some rule or way of doing things was absurd
At others they would choose to dress in a way that stood out rather than fit with the unofficial business wear “uniform”
For others they would share information that they probably should not have…
For those of us who were more comfortable obeying the rules – or need to enforce them – their behaviour was uncomfortable but not necessarily “bad”
The main redeeming feature that they all had was that they were very good at what they did – and what they did they did well. And that’s what made the difference.
It’s something to bear in mind as a manager. Maybe the person behaving badly really falls into the “colourful character” category and though it makes your life difficult don’t let it make you lose sight of their strengths.
And in all of this – remember to give the quiet, unassuming, high performers some attention too!
Tags: management, What I learned from
Mar 05, 2010
A good reminder, Jackie. Although not every colorful character I’ve met wasn’t exactly bad, there were enough of ‘em to give a little credence to your premise. Still, what I may define as “bad” isn’t necessarily what everyone else would see, I suppose.
Thanks for the WILF entry, and a tip o’ the hat to ya!
Mar 08, 2010
I suspect that really creative thinkers often rock the boat because they are challenging accepted thinking. They see things from another point of view, speak their mind and this can lead to team leaders becoming a little annoyed. However, people in any organisation who don’t readily ‘fit’ in a particular box often have the most interesting and unusual contributions to make!
Mar 08, 2010
[...] Do you have to be bad to be noticed? by Jackie Cameron at Jackie Cameron [...]
Mar 08, 2010
Absolutely Dilly….it is usually the fact that they are unpredictable that makes them interesting ! I know that this can be hard to manage – but often worth the effort. Thanks for commenting!
Mar 08, 2010
It’s sad that quiet, deserving people get ignored. On the other hand, the colorful characters still manage to demonstrate valuable skills and therefore sometimes there’s merit in the rewards they get. Don’t have to like that, though.
Mar 09, 2010
You make a good point Mark. To go back to where I started in the post the comment the youngster is sadly what a lot say. As an adult I wish it was otherwise but I can see where he is coming from. The “colourful” aspect fades a bit if they don’t deliver on promises and just mess folks about though!