That Guy

September 23rd, 2011 by Donor By Design Team

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By the Donor By Design Team

We all know that guy (or gal).

The one who is always ready with criticism, but not a solution.

The one who shows up late, ill-prepared, and manages to derail the whole agenda.

The one who has an excuse for everything, but not a minute to help.

Are you going to let that guy get in the way of your vision?

Big goals and powerful missions need the full attention and effort of committed individuals. When you find yourself with a team member who is not pulling their weight, it is your job as a steward of resources and as a leader to ask that guy to change their behavior, or find a different way to serve.

At the recent Global Leadership Summit, Michelle Rhee, former Superintendent of Schools for Washington DC talked about taking on a whole bureaucracy full of “those guys.” Her sweeping changes made her a controversial figure, but she felt that her mission – to give DC children the best education possible – demanded she not let anyone make excuses. She put her own children in the DC public schools to remind her that changes made a few years in the future were not good enough.

When she was criticized for her bold changes and told to pull back, she said simply, “I’m not going to fail those kids. Not on my watch. Go ahead and yell at me.”

Is there someone (even someone on your own team) hijacking your mission?

What steps can you take today to make sure they don’t do any further damage to your organization’s priorities, reputation or success rate? What actions do you want stopped or started? What will be the consequence if those changes aren’t made?

At the very heart of leadership is the ability to make the tough calls and have the difficult conversations. Take on that guy, if he or she exists in your organization, lest you become that guy yourself.