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Agile Approaches for Dealing with Jerks: Bless Their Hearts
Doug is the author of the landmark book, Extreme Project Management®: Using Leadership, Principles and Tools to Deliver Value in the Face of Volatility. He works with clients who undertake projects in very demanding environments: those settings that feature high speed, high change, high unpredictability and high stress. Doug has lived in the trenches—from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Beijing, China—with over 275 project teams with budgets that ranged from $25,000 to over $25 million. He is one of the founders of the Agile Leadership Network, an organization dedicated to connecting, developing and supporting great project leaders. He is known for his hard-hitting and humorous keynote speeches that address vital issues facing today’s project-based organizations. You can visit Doug at www.dougdecarlo.com.
The dynamics and pressures of extreme projects--high speed, high change and high stress--can bring out the best and the worst in people. Inspirational leaders and talented facilitators can emerge out of the blue. And so can jerks: fatuous, contemptible people exhibiting behavior that is blatantly counter productive.
Under extreme conditions, decision-making and creative problem solving skills are essential. Success lies in the ability to foster constructive conflict of ideas so that the best options and solutions quickly emerge. Unless we can move beyond interpersonal (aka destructive) conflict, then the clashing of personalities, temperaments, thinking styles and behavioral norms will combine to leave the project stuck in the muck.
Here a jerk, there a jerk, everywhere a jerk
Jerks can be found all around us: among management, peers, subordinates, customers and venders, just for starters. Jerk-like behaviors include:
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Being rude, brash, immature
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Outright stupidity
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Continually whining, being negative, not offering alternatives
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Being arrogant, pompous or condescending
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Being self-righteous: insisting on one’s point of view despite overwhelming evidence
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Lying, cheating, creating double standards
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Completely disregarding the legitimate concerns of …
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"There are two types of people in this world, good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more." - Woody Allen |