Who Made my Jacket?
No one likes to be evaluated, no one likes to be stressed out about it, and, especially, no one is looking forward to live in anticipation of it.
Been there, done that myself: been evaluated multiple times and been evaluating my staff not once. When I am evaluated, I am taking suggestions for my personal growth seriously, though I might not always agree with what I hear. At the end, if I do not agree with what is expected, then I might better look for another job…
When it comes to evaluating others, that’s even worse. Then, it comes to touchy feelings, that, for some reasons, during my personal evaluation were not welcomed. When I am evaluated, I am expected to be a stoic. When I evaluate others, I am not allowed to expect stoicism. I am watched. I’m suppose to be nice to even the laziest person, who breaks all rules because in a “tribe” everybody is connected and protected, but the boss. The boss is the only outsider, because she/he is not a tribal leader, who truly rules the show.
That was the first strange inconsistency that I discovered being on both sides of the evaluation process. Now, this is what I really want to ponder. The new recommendations teach to step away from an individual evaluation for not putting stress on people and for not alienating them, but, instead, to practice team evaluation, when people are encouraged to improve team performance rather than individual one. I wonder how can one thing improve without the other?
Rewards for good performance are also not recommended. Firing is not recommended either, instead, it is more beneficial to encourage long-term employment. How about unhealthy settings, where people live in a tribal mode, covering each other’s down falls, never addressing problems and never performing their best because nobody stimulates them to do so?
An old Russian anecdote comes to mind: a customer is trying his new jacket in a tailor’s shop. He looks into a mirror in horror: his sleeves are of different length, his buttons are sowed into wrong places.
“Who made my jacket?” Ten people come out of the back of the shop: “We did!”
“Who sewed the buttons on my jacket?” Four people stepped forward: “We did! Do you have problems with the buttons?”
“No, they’re sewed in for eternity! My jacket would fall apart, but the buttons would stay, but they’re all in wrong places! Who made my jacket? One sleeve is shorter than another! Who sewed in the sleeves?”
Three people stepped forward: “We did! Do you have a problem with how they are sowed in?”
“No, they are also sowed in for eternity! You can’t tear them from the jacket! But who cut the fabric, who made my jacket?”
“We did!” – all then tailors stood like a wall against one customer – “Do you have a problem with us?”
The customer shrunk, “I don’t, but who made my jacket?”
Team work is needed, and I personally would seek team synergy, but personal responsibility should not be excluded.
I do not want to be a victim of negligent team players, neither do I want to supervise them! I would rather fire those who do not want to grow and bring new people, who are interested in excellency!
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