Dealing with Slackers

Tip Sheet #8 from Doing the Right Things Right

Sometimes setting a motivational fire within the team can be useful if it jolts people out of complacency—or sheer laziness—and gets them back to work. Since teamwork rules in the business environment, having team members who don’t shoulder their share of the load can jam the work process gears, bringing productivity to a halt. Not only do slackers slow team efficiency, their attitude may infect others.

Don’t automatically assume your slackers realize what’s happening. Their poor performance may not be deliberate. They may be so worried about something at home they can’t do a good job at work. Possibly, they lack the right training to do as well as they should. Perhaps they’re overwhelmed, not a good fit for their jobs, or bored. Maybe they don’t recognize their own incompetence. So before lowering the boom, start with these corrective actions:

Enough’s Enough

Slackers are productivity vampires, slowly draining your team of life. The worst of them blame others for their faults, express a toxic attitude, and deliberately stir up trouble.
Respond to them immediately by putting them on notice. Find ways to engage and motivate them where possible—and the sooner the better. If things don’t clear up relatively quickly, show them the door, for your team’s sake.

©Laura Stack, MBA, CSP, CPAE, aka The Productivity Pro®, gives speeches and seminars on sales and leadership productivity. For over 25 years, she’s worked with Fortune 1000 clients to reduce inefficiencies, execute more quickly, improve output, and increase profitability. Laura is the author of seven books, including Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time. See www.3TLeadership.com.