Stuck in Neutral

Seth Godin has a brilliant blog post about the "Neutral Employee", click HERE to read it.

You know those neutral co-workers, right? In corp-speak: they're neither disengaged OR engaged. In real-speak: they just don't care.  While you're smiling and laughing and throwing around ideas like the leader you are; or while you've rolled up your sleeves to get some stuff DONE, they're doing the bare minimum. They're not whining, but they're just not helping or contributing or thinking ahead. In short, they're behaving like my tween-er daughter when I ask her to help me clean up the house . . .

I'm might get taken out for this, but I'm going to share a secret from the hallows of the Human Resources department: no one likes "neutral employees". No one. Bosses try to get rid of them in any way they can.

Below is a handy field-spotting guide for "neutral employees"

Physical characteristics may include any or all of the following:

• Slow walk;
• Dull eyes;
• Hunched shoulders;
• Lack of eye contact;
• Droning voice

Verbal characteristics may include any or all of the following:

• "I just want to do my job."
• "I don't have anything to add to that . . ."
• "I don't care . . ."
• "Why do we need goals?"

What's that you said? You're afraid you might be a neutral employee? Well, leaders, here's a short exercise:

• Make a list of all the ideas you've shared with your boss in the past month; or,
• Make a list of all the ideas you've implemented at your workplace in the past month; or,
• Make a list of  what you've learned to help you in your job in the last month; or, 
• Make a list of all the opinions you've shared with your boss in the last month; or,
• Make a list of your personal work goals for the past month; or,
• Describe the most engaging conversation you've had at work in the past month.

If you don't have anything for those lists, or if your most engaging conversation was about the latest episode of "Downton Abbey" then you are probably a neutral employee.

Never fear! It just means it is time to snap out of it and go back to being the leader you are! I guarantee your boss and co-workers will like you better if you do.

Any positive step you take will take you off the lay-off short list and move you in the right direction and the added benefit is that you'll probably find that work is more interesting and you feel more "engaged"!

• Express an opinion at work
• But don't overdo it! You might scare people off if you don't keep it respectful!
• Share ideas at work
• Right now it's a little bit of quantity - versus - quality. Don't throw out one idea and get all hung up that no one likes it. I'm going to get all Pollyanna here: ideas are limitless, like stars in the sky, and once you start generating them, they will come so frequently that eventually one will be a "keeper".
• Figure out a way to improve a frustrating work process -or reach out and help your boss or a co-worker.

Have you ever felt "neutral" at a job?  Did you get out of it? If so, how??