Stop Domesticating Remarkable People
People in the middle are forgettable. Obsessed people are remarkable.
Danger:
Average leaders want everyone else to be average.
Leaders face the danger of domesticating remarkable people. In the process, remarkable people become average, forgettable.
Illustration:
I see a remarkable hotel employee a few times a year. She ALWAYS smiles and asks in a bright Mexican accent, “How are you?” She draws out the “ou” a little.
Her eyes wrinkle in the corners validating her smile.
The last time I saw her, I asked, “How are you so happy all the time?” She replied, “I want MY guests to enjoy their stay.
Notice she said, “My guests.” She doesn’t own the hotel. She restocks the breakfast buffet. She’s done it for years.
Some mornings I want to be left alone. Some mornings I don’t like cheerful people. However, of all the hotel employees I meet, this one rises to the top. (Even if she irritates me once in awhile.)
Outstanding qualities have a downside.
- Happy people irritate grumpy people.
- Detail people drive big picture people crazy.
- Planners drive spontaneous people nuts.
Avoid domestication:
If you aren’t careful, you’ll domesticate top performers. They’re too happy, too detail oriented, or they plan too much.
Compared to average people, remarkable people are obsessed.
I had an obsessive detail-person on my team. Nothing was good enough for him.
He moved my laptop a quarter of an inch before I gave presentations. He tweaked lights, chairs, sound, projection. He was the tweakmeister.
Others felt they couldn’t do anything good enough for him.
5 ways to celebrate obsession:
- Realize that remarkable people invite strong reactions.
- Run interference for remarkable people.
- Design jobs around remarkable people.
- Teach team members how to tolerate each other’s obsessions. Laugh a little.
- Add mitigating qualities and skills to obsessed people, but don’t weaken their obsession.
How might leaders protect and maximize remarkable people?
How might leaders protect and maximize remarkable people? When I hear the word “protect” leaders need to have the backs of the workers both in goodtimes and badtimes, in order to maximize remarkable people let them shine, and do what they do best! If they are remarkable they don’t need their hand held, let them “run with the ball”, we are there for their support if needed.
To maximize them. take them out of their comfort zone and challenge them with tasks they have never done, truely remarkable people pickup easily and get things accomplished.
Trust them “if they flounder” assist them, build them to new extremes. We all have comfort zones the challenge is expanding the zone of coverage, remember to challenge yourself as well as others if your the Leader.
I am a white collar manager in a blue collar world. I have a very blue collar employee that most of my co-managers hate. This employee is loud, opinionated, coarse, rude and yet passionate. He’s technically brilliant. I depend on him immensely. Yes, slowly, I have been teaching him some manners and ways to better manage conflict, but I tell the other managers we need to learn to speak blue collar and not expect these guys to learn white collar language. This blue collar guy becomes more and more like gold to me because I accept him as he is.
Remarkable people invite strong reactions because remarkable performance challenges the status quo of average. Every organization needs those remarkable people challenging the status quo for growth, innovation and sustainability. A bit of internal irritation is good for an organization …. it helps to keep complacency away!
Bad to average leaders sometimes feel inadequate next to remarkable people because it shines a light in their own ineptitude, lack of passion or just plain laziness to strive to make things better, above the acceptable status quo bare minimum. You’d think some of leaders were undergoing some sort personal attack as they line up remarkable people on the sacrificial table or firing line to protect themselves.
Managers and supervisors who are always trying to rein passionate people in eventually will kill that passion. The attitude “You will assimilate. Resistance is futile” only works to force these people to just become part of the herd. Maybe they are easier to manage that way, but killing their passion and engagement doesn’t make them better employees.
Below examples on this topic for people who enjoy leadership lessons from a military point of view. It shows how a remarkable leader, Gen. G.C. Marshall, protected and maximized an unknown and untested subordinate (Gen. Eisenhower) during the beginning of WWII. These lessons from 1942 are as relevant today as they were then.
To Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower
December 22, 1942 Radio No. 365 Washington, D.C.
Secret
….I think you should delegate your international diplomatic problems to your subordinates and give your complete attention to the battle in Tunisia and the protection of the Straits of Gibraltar. I want you to feel that you can do this and depend on us to protect your interests and that you do not have to give your time to making lengthy explanations to us to justify your position. You are doing a magnificent job and I want you to feel free to give your exclusive attention to the battle particularly as German intentions against your right flank seem evident.
To General Dwight D. Eisenhower
May 6, 1943 Washington, D.C.
Secret
Dear Eisenhower:
As a courier is just leaving for your Headquarters to reach you I believe in three days, they have called on me for anything I might wish to get off to you by his hand. At the moment there seems to be nothing for me to say except to express deep satisfaction in the progress of affairs under your direction. I have had your recent letters regarding promotions, regarding censorship, and other matters, in all of which we seem to see eye to eye. My interest is to give you what you need, support you in every way possible, and protect you against the ravages of ideologies and special pleaders of democracies, to leave you free to go about the business of crushing the Germans and gaining us great victories…..
With my complete confidence and affectionate regards,
Faithfully yours,
G. C. Marshall
The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, ed.Larry I. Bland and Sharon Ritenour Stevens(Lexington, Va.: The George C. Marshall Foundation, 1981- ). Electronic version based on The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 3, “The Right Man for the Job,” December 7, 1941-May 31, 1943 (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), p. 488.
Thanks Dan.
The domestication of employees has been occurring, most notably, since the start of the Industrial Revolution that created an economy based on manufacturing.
Some 170 years later, in an information economy, we have inherited most of those leadership/ management concepts that insist on compliance. In fact we invented a new business function and called it HR to ensure just that.
It is one of the great business paradoxes today that (for example) leaders/ managers get up in front of employees and tell them;
“We want you to be innovative and creative… the future of the company depends on this …. oh, and by the way, make sure you follow the Policies and Procedures Manual.”
Dan, how timely! Thank you for this post. My spirit has been bruised lately working with colleague that sees questions as a challenge to his authority, and change as a direct assault on the status quo…which it is:-) At worst, I feel he gloats over my mistakes as newest member of the team and undermines me with my boss.
The team I work with seems to prefer being busy rather than productive, and reactive rather than stopping, assessing so we can be proactive. After 1 year, I am still the outsider that “doesn’t understand how things are done”. Although I initally had strong support from my direct boss, my impression is that I’m not getting the attention I had – maybe the honeymoon’s over! and he’s getting worn down with my requests to tweak here & there…
I appreciate this opportunity to say thanks & to vent a little – I love your blog & the pearls of wisdom I have filed away!
Thank you, Dan, for your provocative post. I was focused on the word “domestication.” On the one hand, I thought about GK Chesterton’s famous quote: “Take care not to free a camel of the burden of his hump, lest we free him from being a camel.” In other words, we make people something they’re not, and perhaps even stop them from becoming all they are capable of becoming. On the other hand, I was thinking about an old professor’s definition of education–which is the domestication, civilization or taming of the soul’s raw passions and informing and forming them of “assessment” and “judgment”–thus enabling them to SEE (understand) all they are capable of becoming. In both cases, however, the leader becomes a person who decides something needs to happen—and then makes sure it does happen.
It boggles my mind that many bosses put out the flame of someone remarkable who wants to improve things. I loved having remarkable people work for me. They were going to succeed with or without me. I would choose to be with them and do what I could to be a part of THEIR success, which would be a piece of MY success, not only as a boss, but as a person.
Excellent reminder to build Team by celebrating the strengths and value each individual brings with them! We are better together with our diversity. Sameness leads to lameness on a team.
Some great points brought up in this article! The image of the proboscis monkey you chose to use was certainly polarizing and visceral, and likely not understood or appreciated by some readers who probably didn’t read the rest of the story, whose own noses are less pronounced, who prefer conformity to “over the top” eccentricities or displays of personal style and olfactory prowess…
When looking at workmanship deemed average, well-done and best-in-class, we may not realize how much effort and sacrifice was required to get that last 10%, and some who achieve at that level may be considered certifiably O.C.D., insufferable divas, or geniuses. Some will perform at top capacity when certain normalizing rules are waived, but this should be balanced with consideration for the feelings of other team members and the more important understanding that we may break the letter of the law sooner than violate the spirit behind it. Sometimes this is a delicate balancing act to maintain.
I don’t think managers should try to necessarily protect or mitigate elevated behaviors. Obsessive behaviors, sure. Behaviors that are so unbearable, absolutely. The elevated behaviors are very important for teams. I agree these people are extremely valuable. You need all kinds of people to create a dynamic team. Look past the obsession and see the value!