By Ed Avella
Campus Director & Dean of IT Programs
I saw it on my last flight. More to the point, I heard it:
“That’s not my job.”
Hard to hear it, and just as difficult to write it.
I could go through the particulars of who said what and why, but at the end of the day, both of these employees’ primary responsibility was to ensure that the passengers were boarded safely, comfortably, and as quickly as possible. Each had their own responsibility, but both were expected to ensure the same thing was accomplished. One was clearly overwhelmed, and the other, well…
The best places I have worked have one prevailing attitude; when there is a problem, fix it. Doesn’t matter whose department, doesn’t matter the problem, find a way to help it get solved.
Sometimes, though, people lose their way.
No one is immune to this phenomenon. When I see it in my own workplace, I make one instant judgment:
This is my responsibility and I must fix it.
Whatever the cause, as the director I must take steps. Now. Either I must reignite the individual’s passion and drive to just get things done or to address the prevailing attitude in the office as a whole, but I must determine what has caused it and take immediate corrective action. Typically, I speak to the individual that displays the behavior most prominently, and often I find them all too willing to talk. Then I must act.
I am not suggesting that things have fallen apart, only that as captain of the ship I am charged with making sure all parts are heading in the right direction, and sometimes they are not.
So…
I know I’m not the only one to see this…what behaviors do you witness that help you identify when your ship seems to be veering off course…even slightly?
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