As Ron set looking at the pile of reports and invoices on his desk he wondered where the day went. It was 7 p.m. and the office was quiet. As he thought about the day’s events he became frustrated with his inability to manage the day so that he could be at home right now having dinner with his family. Instead, while everyone else was at home, he was still dealing with paperwork.
One particular block of time frustrated him the most. For almost 2 hours today, Ron had listened to the bitter rambling of his long-time employee Kevin. Kevin filled Ron’s doorframe immediately after lunch and planted himself, uninvited, in front of Ron’s desk. Kevin’s drama this day had to do with how a new employee wasn’t showing Kevin the proper respect and something to do with sitting in Kevin’s chair in a meeting. Frankly, Ron couldn’t even remember the details of the conversation, as it all didn’t make much sense, yet he felt obligated to listen because, well, that’s what leaders do and Kevin is a long-time employee.
This wasn’t the first time that Kevin ate up an afternoon griping about something that at the time seemed trivial, and at the present, not memorable at all. Each little breakdown seemed to come right after lunch and Ron was starting to suspect that Kevin used these little meetings to extend his lunch break.
So now, at 7 p.m. when Ron could be at home helping with homework or watching TV, he was stuck with invoice approvals because he wasted his afternoon on Kevin. Wasted? Could he really say time spent on an employee is wasted? – He thought. Maybe it wasn’t the best leadership attitude, but in today’s case, yes, listening to someone talk about how someone sat in a chair seemed to be a waste.
Time wasted is exactly how he was going to rule this event and the more he thought about it the more he came to grips with the necessary action ahead. He would no longer allow people, particularly Kevin, to waste his time. For Ron to do his job and be a good leader, he simply could no longer afford to have time wasters in his midst. He was fed up and ready to do something, but he just wasn’t sure what to do – but he knew whom to call.
The first thing the following morning, Ron called his long-time mentor Eric. Eric was Ron’s boss at a previous job and the two men had kept the mentor relationship.
“Hi Eric, it’s Ron. Got a minute,” Ron started.
“Ron, good to hear from you. Of course, always have time for my favorite employees,” came Eric’s reply.
“Great. I’ve got this employee who has been around along time. He has kind of become a sacred cow I guess. Everyone knows he doesn’t really pull his weight, but, you know the type, he is hard to catch,” said Ron as he fidgeted with a pencil on his desk. “He has become a real pain for me. I wasted another 2 hours listening to his petty complaints yesterday and ended up missing dinner with my family. I guess I’m fed up with him and ready to act, but I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do.”
“I hear you Ron. I’ve encountered a few of those employees myself over the years. They are a tough case,” Eric reassured Ron. “Let me ask you, how valuable is your time with your family?”
Ron was caught off guard a bit. “Uh, well pretty important, I guess.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have guessed it since you traded a night with your family for time with this employee of yours,” said Eric as he paused for effect.
“I guess you’re right,” confessed Ron. “I see what you are saying. I need to make a conscious choice of how and where I will spend my time.”
“Those are some skills to teach yourself, Ron. But, if you don’t,” Eric reassured, “eventually it will catch up with you and your leadership will be undermined. You will become bitter toward this guy and he will drag you down into some little battle of wills. You’ve got to do what is right for you, your family and your other employees. There is no room in a highly productive and supportive organization for someone with petty complaints and a lack of personal accountability. The guy needs to go Ron, or you have to settle on being less than you can be as a leader.”
“Wow. You always know how to place everything on the table in the bright light of wise judgment. Doesn’t always feel good, but I get it – it’s the right thing to do,” confessed Ron.
“I promise you. If you deal with this issue, you will regain control of your time, you will make life much more enjoyable for everyone else on the team and you send a warning shot to others that personal accountability and professionalism is absolutely expected. It will work wonders,” Eric assured Ron.
“You’re right. I’m on it. As always, thanks for the sound advice,” said Ron.
As Ron ended the call with Eric, he called Kevin. “Kevin, I need to see you in my office. Now please.”
The Moral: If you do not protect yourself from the draining influences of an over-demanding employee, your leadership ability will suffer.