I’m still surprised when I come across people in organizations who feel comfortable in a state of learned helplessness. These are people who would rather pass the responsibility for any decision, however small, to their supervisor. Today was a case in point.
I went into my local library, returned a book, and then made my way to the restroom. While I was in there, I had sufficient time to notice that someone (high school students, in all probability) had decorated a couple of the doors with spit wads – bits of moistened paper that have the unmistakable appearance of having been chewed. Now I have to tell you that I feel it is my civic responsibility to report such misdemeanors; and so, before leaving, I stopped by the desk to tell the clerk what I had discovered. You could tell she felt helpless: “Would you like to tell the librarian?”
Those of you who know me also know that I generally try to deal with the person at the lowest end of the hierarchy because I feel that it is an insult to them to automatically go to his or her supervisor instead. Her question took me by surprise. “Why would I want to tell the librarian,” I asked, astonished. “I’ve just told you.”
You would have thought that this middle-aged woman would have been flattered that I had entrusted this information with her instead of running to the Mother Supervisor; but, no. She wasn’t having any of it. She stopped what she was doing, and said, “Your tone.” For a moment, I thought I was speaking with the Mother Subordinate.
“Why would I go up the chain of command?” I asked. “I’m assuming you have some intelligence.”
As I left, I could hear her disapproval. “You’re a piece of work.”
I was tempted to go back and tell her that she was incapable of any work, never mind a piece of it.
Let’s re-run this scenario, and see how it could have been handled differently.
Me: “I thought you’d like to know that some students have put spit wads on a couple of the doors.”
Her: “Thanks for telling us. We’ll get it cleaned up as soon as we can.”
Me: “By the way, why does it always smell like an outhouse in there?” (Yes, I really asked her that? But, I was thinking that I needed to get more exercise because I was finding it difficult to hold my breath the entire time I was in there.)
Her: “Some of the men can’t hit the urinal even if they’re standing in front of it. I’ll tell the cleaners to disinfect it again. Have a nice day.”
What a difference! It could have been like that; but do you know why it wasn’t. She had a black belt in learned helplessness. Do you know how she got it? Her supervisor taught it to her.
What is your style of leadership? Do you insist that everything goes through you right down to the cleanliness of the toilets in your office? (pun intended) If you do, then you are probably being overpaid.
