The Lowest Common Denominator

Before my time as a business coach at Thrive and before I knew a little about people management, I had no idea what to look out for. At my previous job, I head of fellow employees openly complaining about the managers, about their job and the customers. I never thought that I should say something to the managers, or to the others. It was not until talking with Jon and in my reading that not saying anything to the managers is actually damaging to the business, the culture and can scare off the business coach customers. People are always going to complain, whine, and overall hate their jobs. Before being a business coach or manager, people would tell me all sorts of things and would confide in me about how they do not like the managers, their job, or even their spouse. Since becoming a manager of people, I have found that people no longer confide in me about their loathing about their job. 

When you allow the staff to complain and do shady things then the work culture and environment are going to degrade and become an unpleasant place to work and to do business.

However, there is one way to get people to let me know what is going on and that is to have a more or less spy. No one likes to be the spy, snitch, or tattletale. The point of this is to make sure that in case there is any foxes in the hen house or a snake in the garden that they are weeded out as fast as possible. The business is going to be like a bus or a battleship. The bus or ship is not going to change course fast, or even at all. When there are loose wheels on that bus then it is up to the spy or snitch to let the managers know what is up so they know what is going on. Sometimes it was nothing at all, just a comment that was taken weird or a misheard conversation. But the times when it is something, and there is a snake in the garden then it must be dealt with swiftly and as soon as possible. This was something that most employees have to understand is a necessity for the business. Without the help of others in the workplace, the managers would be in over their heads with problems. 

This is something that many other workplaces struggle to have done. The people that they hire do not want to be that person to throw someone under the bus. This is why it is vital to instill in your employees when you hire them on that your business is the bus and you should throw the shady employees under it as soon as you can. When issues go unsaid they just fester and get worse and worse. When you allow the staff to complain and do shady things then the work culture and environment are going to degrade and become an unpleasant place to work and to do business. I mean after all how many of us have ever been to a store or office and there is a clear division in the staff, they complain about the place and nothing gets done? That is why it is crucial that any weirdness or shady behavior is brought to light as soon as it is discovered.