Lubans' Fable of the Man and the Hole in the Ground*

Posted by jlubans on December 18, 2024  •  Leave comment (0)

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Caption: Illustration by Microsoft Copilot, December 18, 2024
First posted in August 2019, in the style of George Ade, here is a 2024 version re-cast by none other than Microsoft's AI.
It was an unusual sight. Behind the town Bank, in its parking lot, a backhoe was digging away, tearing out hunks of asphalt, concrete, and dirt. Dump trucks roared off with the debris.
Lastly, a truck with a vacuum hose as big as an elephant's trunk and a tank big enough to drain a swimming pool came by and plunged into action, sucking up something out of the hole.
It was hard to tell what the project was about. Whatever it was, it left a deep hole in the ground, surrounded by fluttering yellow tape that read "Danger - Work Area."
Each day, for several days running, a man dressed in a banker's Vice President suit came out through the back door of the Bank - usually around quitting time -and walked over to the rim of the hole.
He stared and pondered, appearing to be in deep thought.
This sight - the man and his hole in the ground - bemused departing workers (BTW, if you do not believe in Resurrection, be here at quitting time).
Some were impressed by his dutiful Diligence, whispering, "No doubt, he's making sure the job is done Right." A few wondered, "I never knew he had an Engineering degree!" while others - a disrespectful few - tittered, "When is he gonna jump in"?
Eventually, the hole was filled, and the parking lot was freshly paved and newly lined; it looked Spiffy.
Probably a good thing, the man no longer stopped to look at what was now a filled-in Hole.
Sometimes it takes a hole in the ground for a man to feel Important or was that impotent?
PS. Another (sink)hole to gaze at in this story from Latvia.

*The 2019 version, pre-AI, of this fable can be found here.
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And, my book on democratic workplaces and what leaders can do to look important, Leading from the Middle, is available at Amazon.

© Copyright all text John Lubans 2024

Gettin' the Pip*

Posted by jlubans on December 14, 2024  •  Leave comment (0)

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Caption: Not 2x4 Management

A colleague who grew up on a ranch in Texas, told me of a fail-proof method for saddle breaking a bucking bronco: the Way of the 2x4.
One of the ranch hands would lead the recalcitrant horse behind the barn and teach it a lesson with the 2x4 board.
The horse would return subdued and willing to give the saddle a try, or so it seemed.
Effective?
Yeah, so is a kick in the ass (fear). It moves an unwilling object a few inches forward. But, then you have to maintain the fear to sustain the external motivation.
So, the wild-eyed bronco may have lost the vicious gleam in the eye, but the lesson may be short lived.
I suspect the ranch hand never walked behind any of the horses he'd abused with a 2x4.
All this is by introduction to a corporate Way of the 2x4: the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).
The WSJ article has a subscript:
The Most Hated Way of Firing Someone Is More Popular Than Ever. It?s the Age of the PIP. Performance improvement plans are on the rise. Workers dread them. Managers do to.
The workplace PIP is generally regarded as the penultimate step to the inevitable dismissal of the employee; indeed, the threat of a PIP is often enough to get the unwanted staffer to quit.
However, the PIP is a tacit admission of failure on the part of the organization - the failed employee should never have been hired and the manager and the HR consultant who hired the failed employee should be (but won't be) disciplined as well.
In my career, I know of one manager (Jill) who used a PIP to address a long-term problem employee (Jack).
Other supervisors had given up on Jack, preferring to isolate and avoid him. Swedes have an idiom for such behavior, "to walk like a cat around hot porridge." Cute.
But not Jill. Like my 2x4 wielding cowboy, she rode Jack hard.
I think Jill enjoyed it, maybe channeling some personal torments into the daily monitoring required by the PIP.
Funny thing, Jack survived.
He, like the horse behind the barn, was subdued but his resentment lingered. If he was 50% effective before the PIP, he was now at 60% but with a smoldering grievance further occluding his view of and loyalty to the workplace.
What can one do instead of taking a figurative 2x4 to the problem employee?
Sticking with my equine metaphor, horse whisperers suggest there are better ways than a beating to bring along a recalcitrant employee.
Horse whisperers, like Kelly Marks, have qualities that translate to the workplace. Ms. Marks finds solutions to problem behaviors that benefit both horses and humans. How does she, and other horse whisperers do that?
Here's what get results in the pasture and in the office:
Empathetic managers and horse trainers foster a supportive environment.
Working with horses (and humans) requires patience - lots of it - to build trust and overcome behavioral issues
Whisperers communicate effectively with the horse. Clear and consistent communication in the workplace helps prevent misunderstandings.
Managers who use positive reinforcement (a kind word or a reward for specific behavior) now and then) can motivate employees and boost their confidence.
Trust is crucial. (Good luck on any trust surviving the first session of a PIP!)
Horse whisperers adapt their approach to meet an individual horse's needs. Managers of humans can do so as well.
Perhaps needless to say, these are the ways of effective leaders of humans.

*In British slang, getting the pip derives from a bird disease of the tongue. Over time, a pip is having a bad mood, feeling irritable or grumpy. In other words, it is the way both the employee and the manager feel when called upon to pretend to seek improvement in a problem employee?s performance when both know the PIP is a phony process to avoid a legal challenge to terminations.
Finally, James Carville (a Democrat party operative) in assessing his party's collapse in the 2024 election, grumbled about know-all appartchiks and supervisors who hire lame performers:
"If I were running a 2028 campaign and I had some little snot-nosed 23-year-old saying, "I'm going to resign if you do this," not only would I fire that motherf---er on the spot, I would find out who hired them and fire that person on the spot!". (Emphasis added)

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The perfect stocking stuffer ONLY a click away at BookBaby:

And, my book on democratic workplaces, Leading from the Middle is available at Amazon.


Copyright all text by John Lubans 2024

Encourage Assent, Discourage Dissent: The Limits of Social Media

Posted by jlubans on December 03, 2024  •  Leave comment (0)

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More than a few social media posters are absolutely certain. And they certainly are not going to include any contrarian ideas or skepticism about what they claim.
Social media is the epicenter for absolutist thinking, the My Way or the Highway kind.
Interestingly, many posts are re-posts and are removed at some distance from one?s own thinking.
Speaking of re-posting, I favor Ralph Walso Emerson who said, "don't give me quotations, tell me what you think."
But many do re-post. Why?
According to AI, there several reasons, but these two stand out:
Validation: shares, we are told, can provide a sense of validation and boost self-esteem. Social media can act as a feedback loop where people feel rewarded for sharing content that like-minded others engage with (supposedly). In any case, AI suggests we get some kind of jollies out of re-posting, especially with a savage stab at the SEND button.
And then there's our chartibable selves coming out - we certainly think we are doing a service by, sharing Information and Influencing others. Many see social media as an impactful tool (which brings us back to the psychological quirk, validation of self.)
OK. We can do all that, but what options do we have when we see something we view as particularly egregious, incorrect, biased, distorted, prejudiced, one-sided, parti pris!, warped, jaundiced, inimical or misrepresented? Whew!
Of my Facebook friends, there are a few who seek confrontation, like a belligerent drunk who wants to fight everybody in the bar.
Well, on Facebook, you can make a comment, hold your tongue, pick an emoji, or click on the like button. So social media, at least what I see of it, channels us into assent and discourages our dissent.
AI tells me that Facebook did consider the idea of a "dislike" button, but decided not to.
Why?
A thumbs-down button could lead to negative consequences, such as cyberbullying and promoting negativity on the platform.
Anyway, we like the like button.
Why?
Positive and Negative Feedback: We seek approval and positive reinforcement, which is why a thumbs up feels rewarding. It is said to trigger a spritz of happy dopamine.
On platforms like X, feedback is visible to others, which can amplify the emotional impact. Positive reactions can lead to a sense of community and acceptance, while negative ones can feel like public criticism leading to ostracization.
Instead, of a Dislike button Facebook offers Reactions, to express emotions like like, love, haha, wow, sad, and angry.
Does any social media platform include an option for expressing genuine skepticism about something you have invested your time in reading?
So let's get to the res: What about expressions of skepticism, especially for those re-posts that you arguably believe to be propaganda and a lazy way to express a world view.
Don't bother?
Perhaps nothing on social media should be taken seriously. It?s entertainment.
I am interested in cute kid, cat and dog pictures and stories, but as for enlightenment about life, I'll take the real thing.
AI suggests, when I am skeptical about a post, I use something like this: 🤨💭❓ (Raised eyebrow + thought bubble + question mark)
Cumbersome, but maybe better than nothing.
The trio might convey "Hold on, mon ami, why should I believe your single-sided point of view?" without getting into a fist fight.
For me, responding with a well thought out comment is time consuming if I want to convey my meaning without a back and forth. So, I do not bother and keep on scrollin'.
Let's shift some of the burden of explanation/clarification/revision on the poster or re-poster.
Why not use the "universal signal that something requires a response or further thought"?
A stand-alone question mark.
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Speaking of skepticism, open up one of my books and find it in abundance about the workplace and leadership. Order here:
Fables for Leaders
&
Leading from the Middle

Copyright all text by John Lubans 2024