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What’s The Only Thing Worse Than an Incompetent Subordinate?

Written by: Tom Lemanski

Article Overview: The answer to this riddle surprised, amused and enlightened me. So, I had to share it along with some analysis.

What’s The Only Thing Worse Than an Incompetent Subordinate?

For a manager, what's the one thing worse than an incompetent subordinate? The answer to this old corporate axiom and riddle surprised and amused me so much that it inspired this briefing. The answer…

The only thing worse than an incompetent subordinate is a hard working, incompetent subordinate.

Why is this so true? Here are two more axioms to help explain it.

The First Rule of Holes: When you’re in one, stop digging.

The hard working incompetent doesn’t know when to stop digging. He/she gets deeper and deeper into trouble and the damage takes longer for you to un-do if it can be repaired at all.

The Puritan Ethic: Work hard and become successful.

All too often our admiration for raw effort blinds us to the fact that little is being achieved. In organizations where measurable accountability wanes, one of the few criteria we have for evaluating performance is effort. Bob works so hard, how can we criticize him? The Puritan Ethic can lead us to confuse activity with achievement.

Ask yourself…

* Do you have any hard working incompetents that are hindering your potential for achievement?
* Is anyone taking too long to do their otherwise routine tasks or putting in too many hours after everyone else has gone home?
* Is the situation being fostered by a lack of accountability?
* Are your people working hard or working smart?

A Three Step Remedy

1. Establish Measurable SMART Goals for every position and monitor and discuss their progress.
2. If your people cannot display the competency to achieve, they are likely in the wrong job. As long as you foster or ignore this, who is really being served?
3. Establish competency models for your positions and assess new candidates for the proper fit.

Related Articles
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  Beating the Blame Game

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