Self promotors in the workplace
Discussion
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46608818
Possibly a bit of a nonstory, but let’s hear your stories of people who appear to be the busiest and most important people in the business.
I’ve always found sales channel alliance managers / partner alliance “directors” fall into this category. In reality, it’s a glorified secretarial job.
Another one I know of in my previous job was a self described influencer and futurist. He did have the gift of the gab and blagged a very senior and well paid position in the company but lasted about 2 years.
He recently posted some bilge on LinkedIn about an idea he had that was going to change the world in tech. Yep, because a LinkedIn post is the place to do it.
Possibly a bit of a nonstory, but let’s hear your stories of people who appear to be the busiest and most important people in the business.
I’ve always found sales channel alliance managers / partner alliance “directors” fall into this category. In reality, it’s a glorified secretarial job.
Another one I know of in my previous job was a self described influencer and futurist. He did have the gift of the gab and blagged a very senior and well paid position in the company but lasted about 2 years.
He recently posted some bilge on LinkedIn about an idea he had that was going to change the world in tech. Yep, because a LinkedIn post is the place to do it.
This describes what I call worker-shirkers; people who appear busy but are not.
The most visible of these you find in Petrol Station / Mini Marts where you see people stuffing already stuffed shelves and wheeling more stuff around for no apparent reason other than avoiding the need to man a till, despite the desperate need to do so.
The most visible of these you find in Petrol Station / Mini Marts where you see people stuffing already stuffed shelves and wheeling more stuff around for no apparent reason other than avoiding the need to man a till, despite the desperate need to do so.
I've met a few in my time too. Once you start asking what they're doing and offer a smarter, more efficient solution they ignore you and carry on doing it their way.
Some people like to feel as though they're busy, and contributing, but in practice they're being largely inefficient and a drain on resources.
Work smart, not hard.
Some people like to feel as though they're busy, and contributing, but in practice they're being largely inefficient and a drain on resources.
Work smart, not hard.
devnull said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46608818
I’ve always found sales channel alliance managers / partner alliance “directors” fall into this category. In reality, it’s a glorified secretarial job.
I'd agree with this, same in my experience. Always want to insert themselves into deals where they are not needed to justify their existence (Sales rep and partner sales rep have this covered). If each said party also brings along a sales engineer and their manager, you can have 9 people turning up to a prospect meeting. Pathetic. I’ve always found sales channel alliance managers / partner alliance “directors” fall into this category. In reality, it’s a glorified secretarial job.
Worker shirkers - I like that one!!
p4cks said:
Work smart, not hard.
This, but as someone else mentioned there are those who no matter how many times you show them/explain a better way of doing something you are met with " but I've always done it that way" or hear some painful story about some random other employee that has established an even worse method.We used to have a chap who was always "busy" - if you actually stopped to watch him his time was spent spinning around in his chair (no, I am not kidding, I mean it, as in like a 5 year old child with the exception of him not shouting out weeeeeeeee as he rotated) and "making coffees" which tended to mean standing in the kitchen area chatting to anyone who came within earshot.....
At the senior level, you have to be a good political operator so the parallels with MPs and politics hold true in my opinion. C level people behave like politicians in their speech and actions. It's not about 'the doing.' It's about image and perception management. These behaviours are rewarded. I'm puzzled why many companies, but not all, are happy with mediocrity and why they continue to struggle with tangible objectives and KPIs for their managers and so-called leaders. These b
ds can swerve utter failure because they write the rules. Accountability is non existent.
Many great articles and books and functional stupidity.
This one is great:
"Smart Work: Why Organizations Full of Intelligent People Do So Many Dumb Things and What You Can Do About It"
I've just left a toxic manager who was absolutey stupendous at managing upwards. Really, it was impressive. But the trouble is her team were at utter breaking point because she didn't manage them at all - mainly because she had no idea what work they did, how it should be done or what was important. Yet she got a fat bonus on top of her six figure salary every year - she made a point of telling her team about it!
ds can swerve utter failure because they write the rules. Accountability is non existent.Many great articles and books and functional stupidity.
This one is great:
"Smart Work: Why Organizations Full of Intelligent People Do So Many Dumb Things and What You Can Do About It"
I've just left a toxic manager who was absolutey stupendous at managing upwards. Really, it was impressive. But the trouble is her team were at utter breaking point because she didn't manage them at all - mainly because she had no idea what work they did, how it should be done or what was important. Yet she got a fat bonus on top of her six figure salary every year - she made a point of telling her team about it!
Edited by silent ninja on Thursday 20th December 20:11
Pissed myself when I saw this story. Certain my company was one that was looked at.
Engagement and morale in our place is not great in most departments. Watching the fk things up is like watching a clown running across a mine-field, the figures are appalling etc. Yet there is this group of people who are hyper engaged a very excited, practically signing the company song on the way in to work in the morning. Yet they achieve the grand total of fk all. They almost literary have no output at all.
Occasionally in a meeting one will pipe up with an idea. I have to grit my teeth and try really hard to explain how it wont work.
No one as any idea what these people do. I would love to sit down with them and say show me your output from the last year and how that has contributed profit.
Engagement and morale in our place is not great in most departments. Watching the f
k things up is like watching a clown running across a mine-field, the figures are appalling etc. Yet there is this group of people who are hyper engaged a very excited, practically signing the company song on the way in to work in the morning. Yet they achieve the grand total of fk all. They almost literary have no output at all.Occasionally in a meeting one will pipe up with an idea. I have to grit my teeth and try really hard to explain how it wont work.
No one as any idea what these people do. I would love to sit down with them and say show me your output from the last year and how that has contributed profit.
selym said:
I worked with a guy in military satcomms who was the main man, the go to guy who seemed to be the subject matter expert on all facets of our business.
He was putting faults on to repair them himself - no wonder he looked like a fking genius!
Hero syndrome. Some nutters set fire to buildings so they can rescue peopleHe was putting faults on to repair them himself - no wonder he looked like a f
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