I don’t know about you, but I tend to have many more embarrassing moments than it seems a “normal” person would have. There was the time I excused myself from an executive meeting to “go potty” (my kids were still young). There was the time I closed a phone call with “I love you” to my boss (I talked to him almost as much as my husband). There was the time I had to fess up to a potential employer that I was so nervous about the interview that I locked my keys in my car, which was why I was late.
Now I can look back at these situations and giggle a bit. But what about the embarrassments or issues no one ever tells you about? In other words, the lettuce between your teeth. Very few strangers, acquaintances, or even friends will tell you if you have toilet paper on your shoe, lettuce in your teeth, or if you are about to really screw something up.
The same holds true for supervisors. Many hesitate to alert their employees to problems or provide feedback. They don’t want to embarrass the person. They don’t want to cause a fuss. They hope the issue will just go away. They assume (hope) the employee is bound to discover the “lettuce between their teeth” on their own and fix the problem. But you know what? Sometimes people walk around for hours / days / months without knowing something is amiss.
Supervisors, you are not doing your employees any favors by ignoring the productivity / behavioral / culture fit issues with employees. Little things become big things. You will be distracted by, and focus intently on whatever issue is a problem. You can’t stop seeing the “lettuce between the teeth”.
Do yourself and your employee a favor. Give them a heads up about the lettuce in their teeth so they can remove it.
Now I can look back at these situations and giggle a bit. But what about the embarrassments or issues no one ever tells you about? In other words, the lettuce between your teeth. Very few strangers, acquaintances, or even friends will tell you if you have toilet paper on your shoe, lettuce in your teeth, or if you are about to really screw something up.
The same holds true for supervisors. Many hesitate to alert their employees to problems or provide feedback. They don’t want to embarrass the person. They don’t want to cause a fuss. They hope the issue will just go away. They assume (hope) the employee is bound to discover the “lettuce between their teeth” on their own and fix the problem. But you know what? Sometimes people walk around for hours / days / months without knowing something is amiss.
Supervisors, you are not doing your employees any favors by ignoring the productivity / behavioral / culture fit issues with employees. Little things become big things. You will be distracted by, and focus intently on whatever issue is a problem. You can’t stop seeing the “lettuce between the teeth”.
Do yourself and your employee a favor. Give them a heads up about the lettuce in their teeth so they can remove it.