In any organization, one should never expect or force everyone to like everyone. The strength and success of any organization is the cohesiveness and teamwork of its employees. However, there are certain employee types that we feel pose a disruptive effect to any cohesion within a company. Now, executives and managers can and will overlook all sorts of weird and quirky behavior as long as the job gets done. But certain types of employees can’t seem to stop themselves from creating more problems than they solve. For them, the dollar amount on their foreheads just isn’t worth it.

We don’t generally like stereotypes but we are going to make an exception for these 12 behavioral types that we would NEVER hire or would not be working for us long.

How many of these employee types do you work with!

1. I’m important. Takes themselves too seriously. Anytime you need something, they have to check his schedule or who-knows-what and get back to you.Or they have all sorts of questions and concerns, every little bit of minutiae they can think of just to sound important. It’s so annoying that, after a while, you just go somewhere else.
2. The persistent negator. Some people are all about why things can’t be done or shouldn’t be done a certain way. They’ve always got reasons why something is wrong but never any good suggestions on how to do it differently or better. They’re always trying to stir up trouble or a debate over nothing. Those people just suck the energy out of organizations.
3. Mr. Know-it-all. People who think they know it all are annoying to those of us who do. Old joke. But seriously, the most accomplished executives are always aware of how little they know; that asking questions is far more important than knowing answers. That just comes from experience. So when the “smartest person in the room” acts like they has all the answers and we know they don’t, they loses credibility. Not a good thing.
4. The brick wall. I don’t know why, but some people are so stubborn, so inflexible, if they don’t do things exactly a certain way — their way — you’d think the whole world is going to fall apart. It gets to the point where they’re actually intimidating to work with, so you just give up. Maybe that’s the point.
5. High maintenance, high anxiety. It’s one thing when you’re new to a job and need some handholding to get going. However, some employees stay that way. They have zero self-confidence, are full of angst, and need to be told exactly what to do and how to do it and confirm every little thing with you for fear they might actually get it wrong and be held accountable. It’s sad, but it’s also a real problem.
6. The filibusterer. It’s easy to spot these people in meetings. They’re the ones who always have to know why we have to do it this way or that way and why not the other way. They’re really just wasting everyone’s time to hear the sound of their own voice — or so they don’t have to actually do any work.
7. In everybody’s business. Everywhere I’ve ever worked there’s been an employee who’s got to be involved in everything. Outwardly, they appear helpful and eager to assist. They want to help everybody do everything. Everything except actual work, that is. After a while you realize it’s all just distraction, to feel important, or stay entertained while getting absolutely nothing done.
8. Surprise! You give them a task with plenty of time to complete it. When the task comes due, you find there is much of the work is missing or incomplete. When you confront the employee, all they have is excuses. A real mess!
9. “Trust me.” When an employee that you don’t know well enough to actually trust says “trust me” it your antennas should go up. If I trust you, you don’t have to say it. If I don’t yet, you have to earn it. Saying it just makes one think of all the reasons why they don’t or shouldn’t.
10. “The Snitch” Is there an individual that you work with who is constantly running to management complaining or snitching about fellow employees?  Beware management!  These are the employees that usually have something to hide and use the fine art of “focal misdirection” to take any attention off of themselves.
11. “The Busy-Bee Illusion” This is the employee that always appears to be in “high gear”. They always want to be noticed as running around like the proverbial chicken with their head cut off. However, they always beg the question; “What exactly has this person accomplished?
12. “It’s the principle.” Whenever someone says, “It’s the principle” at work, get nervous. When they say things, like “I don’t understand why John gets all the accolades and promotions instead of me. It wouldn’t bother me, but it’s the principle…” That’s just code for someone who feels entitled to something they apparently didn’t earn.

If you have multiple of these employee types in your organization, well……

Passion is important.  Passion is believing!  If Passion is evident in what you do,  your fans  or consumers will immediately be able to  tell the difference between a product that is passionately created  or a performance that an artist performed with passion versus the one that was not.

Sometimes truly passionate people try to hide their passion. They are afraid of being misunderstood, of hurting their chances at success rather than helping them. They feel alone… their passion doesn’t make them interesting, it limits them, isolates them.

Don’t hide it! Yes, being truly passionate means that you will likely stand out in a crowd. So what? Bring it! The world needs passion of the good kind desperately.

When you love what you do, everything you touch becomes more special. There is more attention to the details. It should not  always be just about the money,  It should be about  your brand meaning something more.  For true brand sustainability, more than the “one hit wonder,” money should be the consequence, not the goal. Passion is the key building block of success. It’s what separates the truly great brands of today’s marketplace, i.e., Google, Apple, BMW, from the rest. It was passion that made them popular. And it is passion that will drive your successes too.

Passion is infectious, garners a loyal following, produces quality products and services and gives you resilience in the face of adversity.

After passion, if we had the pinpoint the next most important ingredient to success, it is People. If you surround yourself with the best people who share your passion, respect their talents, inspire them  to grow and contribute, foster trust, then you have, what we feel is the second most important ingredient to success.

To conclude, here is a brief  video of Steve Jobs  whose passion and success was undeniable.

http://youtu.be/KuNQgln6TL0

Ok, well we thought we have seen and heard it all in job interviews but  kids, here are  some of the absolute “do not do’s” on an interview. You might say after reading these, “no one would ever be that stupid”……well afraid so. Schools probably need to start teaching interview skills…Ya Think!

1. Candidate said the more he was paid, the harder he worked
2. Candidate said he had been fired from past positions, but still included those managers as references
3. Candidate said getting an interview was important because he wanted an opportunity to show off his new tie
4. Candidate listed her dog as a reference
5. Candidate listed-yes, the moonwalk-as a special skill
6. A husband and wife team looking to job share submitted a poem they had co-written
7. Candidate listed ‘versatile toes’ as a selling point
8. Candidate wrote that he would be “a good asset to the company” but somehow omitted the last two letters in “asset.”
9. Candidate’s email address contained the phrase “shakinmybootie”
10. Candidate mentioned that he had survived a bite from a deadly aquatic animal
11. Candidate used first name only
12. Candidate asked, “Would you pass up the opportunity to hire someone like this? I think not.”
13. Candidate insisted that he be paid for the time he spent interviewing with the company
14. Candidate shipped a lemon with resume, stating, “I am not a lemon.”
15. Candidate included on his resume the fact that he had been arrested for assaulting his previous boss.

What you don’t do can make as much or sometimes more impact than what you actually do — and can also say a lot about your leadership style and abilities as a manager.

Here a list of 5 “Do Not Do’s”….Is this your Boss?

1. Deliver annual performance reviews.Annual or semi-annual appraisals waste everyone’s time. Years ago my review was late, so I mentioned it to my boss. He said, “I’ll get to it… but you realize you won’t learn a thing. You’ve already heard everything I will say, good or bad. If anything on your review comes as a surprise to you I haven’t done my job.” He was right. The best feedback isn’t scheduled; the best feedback happens on the spot when it makes the most impact, either as praise and encouragement or as training and suggestions for improvement. Waiting for a scheduled review is the lazy way out. Your job is to coach and mentor and develop — every day.
2. Say, “Look… I’ve been meaning to apologize…” Apologies should be made on the spot, every time. You should never need to apologize for not having apologized sooner. When you mess up, ‘fess up.  Right away. Don’t you want employees to immediately tell you when they make a mistake? Model the same behavior.
3. Hold meetings to solicit ideas. Many companies hold brainstorming sessions to solicit ideas for improvement, especially when times get tough. Sounds great — after all, you’re “engaging employees” and “valuing their contributions,” right? But you don’t need a meeting to get input. When employees know you listen they often bring ideas to you. Plus, the better way to ask for ideas is to talk to people individually and to be more specific. Say, “I wish we could find a way to get orders through our system faster. What would you change if you were me?” Trust me: Employees picture themselves doing your job — and doing your job better — all the time. They have ideas. Be open, act on good ideas, explain why less than good ideas aren’t feasible… and you’ll get all the input you can handle.
4. Create development plans. Development plans are, like annual performance reviews, largely a corporate construct. (HR staffers love to monitor compliance and alert managers when supervisors are late turning in their employees’ development plans. Or maybe that’s just my experience.) You should know what each of your employees hopes to achieve: Skills and experience they want to gain, career paths they hope to take, etc. So talk about it — informally. Assign projects that fit. Provide training that fits. Create opportunities that fit. Then give feedback on the spot. “Develop” is a verb that requires action; “development” is a noun that sits in a file cabinet.
5. Call in favors. I know lots of bosses who play the guilt game, like saying, “John, I’ve been very flexible with your schedule the last few months while your wife was sick… now I really need you to come through for me and work this weekend…” Generosity should always be a one-way street. Be flexible when it’s the right thing to do. Be accommodating when it’s the right thing to do. Never lend money to friends unless you don’t care if you are repaid, and never do “favors” for employees in anticipation of return. As a leader, only give — never take.