Key Leadership Strategies to Identify, Manage, and Prevent Office Idiocy

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Office Idiots are those individuals whose actions, inaction, antics, and ridiculous behaviors generate widespread dissatisfaction and undercut the performance and productivity of fellow employees near and far and at any job level. Importantly, an organization’s leadership plays a critical role not only in terms of identifying office idiocy, but also from the standpoint of taking corrective and preventive action. The overarching theme is that when management ignores, tolerates, or even enables office idiocy, the outcome is destined to be a continuation and expansion of these counterproductive antics.

Not surprisingly, when managers and leaders act like office idiots, the population of office idiots in their departments tends to increase. There is no question that employees learn from their managers, and it is well understood that managerial behaviors and actions serve as models for the employees to emulate. As a result, when you find a manager who sits in meetings while texting and surfing the Internet on his smartphone, you will also find that his or her employees are far more likely to engage in the exact same idiotic behavior. And what should you do if you are trying to have a serious discussion with your manager or colleague and he or she is texting, glancing at the computer screen, and pecking away at the keyboard at the same time? You should say something, lest you are actually enabling this behavior. Tell this individual that you need his or her attention in order to discuss an important matter. And if the glazed look continues, simply suggest that the two of you meet later. In terms of the bigger picture, leadership assertiveness is a key element in dealing with most forms of office idiocy.

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About the Author

Ken LloydKen Lloyd, PhD, is a nationally recognized Southern California management consultant, author, speaker, and newspaper columnist. He has taught numerous MBA classes at The Anderson School at UCLA and lectures at many other universities. He is the vice president of planning and development at Strategic Partners, Inc. and a frequent television and talk-radio guest, as well. He has authored several books, including Jerks at Work and Performance Appraisals and Phrases for Dummies. A member of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, he graduated from UC Berkeley and received his MS and PhD in organizational behavior from UCLA.

LinkedIn is great for business – er, I mean SMART business.

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I am NOT a LinkedIn expert, but I do have more than 15,000 LinkedIn connections. Do you?

I may have more visibility and notoriety than you do, but we are equal in exposure and linking possibilities. And 98.5% of my LinkedIn connections are the result of people wanting to connect with me.

I do not accept everyone. I click on everyone’s profile before connection. Many are impressive. Most are average or less. Some are pathetic.

How’s yours? How many connections do you have? How are you communicating with your connections? How are your connections helping your sales or your career?

Your LinkedIn profile is one more social media image. And you choose exactly what it is. When others search for you on Google, LinkedIn is one of the first links they click on. You have a chance to make a positive business and social impression.

THE GOOD: When I realized the business significance of LinkedIn, I immediately sought professional help. I hired Joe Soto at One Social Media to help me with the keywords, layout, and what to include on my profile page. He also recommended what and how to post.

It must be working. In the two years since I hired him, I have added more than 9,000 organic connections. Or should I say, more than 9,000 potential customers. Huge opportunity. At an acquisition cost of ZERO.

REALITY OF LINKEDIN: I receive requests to link and I also get messages. Some are very nice, some are self-serving, some are insincere, and some are stupid (very stupid). And ALL messages are a reflection of the person sending them. That would be you.

Here are some THINGS about LinkedIn to make you think, re-think, and act:

  • Your picture is NOT an option. Show a professional, but approachable, image. Be proud of who you are.
  • Have a LinkedIn profile that gives me insight, not just history. Not just what you’ve done, but also who you are. Your profile is your pathway to connection.
  • DANGER: DO NOT USE stock LinkedIn messages. It shows your laziness, lack of creativity, and overall lack of professionalism. Standard LinkedIn messages need to be replaced with your own. EVERY TIME.
  • If you’re looking for a job, or working a lead, tell me WHY I should connect. (Where’s the value?)
  • If you’re looking for leads, use the keyword feature (rather than the job title option) in the ‘advanced search’ link to the right of the search box. It’s free, and you’ll find hundreds of people in your industry or in your backyard that you never knew existed.
  • • Why are sending me an e-card on Easter? I’m Jewish, not a good move. Three words to ask yourself with any message you send or post: WHERE’S THE VALUE? E-cards are a total waste, unless it’s family.
  • If you’re asking me (or people) to join your group, TELL ME WHY I SHOULD.
  • If you’re asking me to connect you with a 2nd level connection, DON’T. The only way to ask is from 1st to 1st. And tell me in a sentence or two WHY you want to connect.
  • Asking for a recommendation or endorsement is BAD. If you’re asking your connections for a recommendation: DON’T. It is perhaps the dumbest, rudest thing on LinkedIn. Think about it, you’re asking people to “please stop what you’re doing and tell me about ME.” Two words: GO AWAY. If you have to ask, it’s probably because you don’t deserve. Think about that.
  • Don’t tell me you “found something interesting” in your group message, especially if the link is to join your MLM down-line or attend your ‘free’ webinar.
  • Allocate 30-60 minutes a day to utilize this vital business social media asset.

THE BAD and THE UGLY: Here are some examples of MESSAGES and INVITES I have received on LinkedIn. Hopefully they’ll make you think, re-think, and act…

BAD: Hi Jeffrey, My name is — with —, a leading — provider that helps organizations connect with their customers through email, mobile, and social networks. I would like to connect about a potential partnership to help Buy Gitomer, Inc. increase their interactive marketing ROI.
This is a typical self-serving (and deleted) message. Why not give me a tip, and ask if I’d like more like it? And stop using dead sales words like ‘ROI,’ and ‘helps organizations.’ Help me, don’t sell me.

DUMB: Hi All, As I continue to work on building my network, can I ask that you do me a huge favor and endorse me here on LinkedIn? I would be more than happy to return the favor and endorse you as well. Thank you for your support! (name withheld to avoid public embarrassment)
Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Give me a break. Spare me. Beg someone else.

BAD AND DUMB: I got this in my message box (I get a few like this every week)
(subject line) Your Opinion please. (name withheld) Supplier Business Executive
If you’re hoping for an endorsement or a recommendation on LinkedIn, or anywhere, here’s the two-word mantra: EARN IT!

LinkedIn is the business social media site of today AND tomorrow. Harness its power, do notabuse its options, and you will reap its rewards.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Recommended Resources – AMA Business Boot Camp

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AMA Business Boot Camp book reviewAMA Business Boot Camp: Management and Leadership Fundamentals That Will See You Successfully Through Your Career
edited by Edward T. Reilly

About the Book

AMA Business Boot Camp edited by American Management Association (AMA) International CEO Edward T. Reilly is a reader’s digest of fundamental management and leadership skills. Within this book, Edward compiles leading practices garnered from AMA’s ninety years of research and observation of the world’s top performing managers. This book contains essential insights for newly promoted and aspiring managers to:

  • Define their role as a manager; creating a healthy and productive workplace environment
  • Identify employee motivators; delegating for development and coaching for superior performance
  • Adapt to a changing organization; recruiting, interviewing, and selecting the right person for the job and the organization
  • Manage projects; from setting scope and selecting a team to delivering on-time, on-budget results
  • Develop a personal leadership style; building power and influence and motivating ‘difficult’ people while avoiding the pitfalls of office politics

Benefits of Using this Book

StrategyDriven Contributors like AMA Business Book Camp for its solid focus on management fundamentals. Edward thoroughly covers the foundational principles and practices every manager must embody in order to be successful. Additionally, the book contains many useful templates that newly promoted managers can add to their personal ‘tool kit’ so to further accelerate their growth into well performing leaders.

While thorough in its discussion of management basics, we found AMA Business Boot Camp to lack the vivid real-world examples that would have brought the application of its concepts to life. This lack of examples diminished the book’s actionable nature; challenging less experienced managers to determine for themselves what the recommended implementation would look like in the workplace environment.

AMA Business Boot Camp contains the complete set of solid management principles and practices every aspiring and newly promoted manager should embody. As such, we believe this book would serve these individuals well as they start their management journey; making AMA Business Boot Camp a StrategyDriven recommended read.

10 Keys to Travel Savings in 2010’s ‘New Normal’

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Business travel is the second largest controllable cost for the average US organization and in 2010’s “new normal”, procurement managers are preparing for: more travel using the same if not smaller budgets (56% of NBTA’s 2010 Business Travel Forecast respondents cautiously reported that they expected their spending to increase – 31% expected flat spending*), the fact that air, hotel, and car rental rates will go down (between 1% to 8%*), negotiated deals will remain prevalent for those who can control and direct spending (70% of Travel Managers reported that they think they will negotiate better hotel rates, 30% think they will get better car and air deals*), increased pressure to leverage more of their travel and meeting spend to reduce costs and enhance benefits, virtual travel to play a larger role as well a mobile tools, miscellaneous costs to continue to rise, and lastly that national, world and emergency situations will require support and communication systems. We have already experienced terrorism attacks, two earthquakes and unusual weather catastrophes in the last 90 days.

So now that we know what to expect, what can we do to manage these changes and obstacles?

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About the Author

Michael MacNair owns MacNair Travel Management, a privately owned American Express Representative Office, which has helped organizations develop a clear Travel Management System that delivers unparalleled value and exceeds expectations. MacNair Travel is a Travel Leadership Consulting Firm because of its proactive consulting toward the development of a cutting-edge travel plan, dedication to unbiased rate searches that save money and time, and dedicated service teams that build confidence. Michael MacNair, author of Smooth Landings, conducts Travel Management seminars for many organizations, such as the National Business Travel Association, and is a frequent media spokesperson. For more information, visit: www.macnairtravel.com or call 703-836-1100.

Tools for Professionals – International Currency Exchange

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When traveling abroad, you’ll likely have some need for the ‘hard’ currency of the country you’re visiting. Below are three tips to consider when acquiring another country’s currency:

Tip 1: Use credit cards whenever possible. These do not incur an exchange fee and so provide the cheapest way to make purchases abroad.

Tip 2: Withdrawal foreign currency using an ATM. Again, this avoids an exchange rate penalty and the ATM fee charged by your local bank is often smaller than the fee charged by currency exchangers.

Note: It is important to accurately estimate the amount of ‘hard’ currency needed so to minimize the number of ATM withdrawals and subsequently ATM use fees incurred. Ask a colleague, friend, or family member living in the country to be visited or familiar with travel there to help you make this estimate. Remember, acquiring too much foreign currency will result in the need to pay a high conversion fee to change the unused foreign money back to your home country’s currency.

Tip 3: When receiving money from a currency exchanger, always check that the money received is the correct denomination and from the correct country. These transactions have a manual component which can result in costly (to you!) errors if the wrong currency is exchanged. For example, receiving Euros instead of British Pounds devalues your transaction (as of this article’s publication a Euro is worth less than a Pound) and may cause you troubles and embarrassment later when trying to spend this money in the United Kingdom.