Organizational Structure
It is very important to have this within your facility. One person can bring negativity to quite a few people. Some of these students listen because in some cases, this is their norm. They are used to it and listen and believe it. To turn the negativity around will take effort from the whole staff.
I would agree with that, and after we decided that the person is on the right bus and their seat has been changed a few times why not leave them in the seat that best fits, if that is feasible. Sometimes a persons personallity is not suited for greeting new customers (students), however they do a fantastic job in the back ground with paperwork and are very happy. Two things are accomplished, a happy customer and a happy employee which is a win win for school and student.
Ken,
In our college, we talk about being on the right bus and also being in the right seat on the bus. We try to determine if a person is a good fit based on our mission and culture. We then try to determine what role is best for that individual.
Sometimes, the person is on the wrong bus. Other times, the person is just in the wrong seat.
I agree that negative attitudes should be addressed, and then talk with the person to see what could be changed that would make things better. Sometimes we can not change things like policy and the like , however there are many things that we can do. If we could move people around to best fit their personallity with what they do. Managers sometimes hold people back because the employee does such a good job that they don't want to lose them, which in turn may cause unhappiness to the employee, and then the negitive attitude may set in.
I tend to agree with Owen. A person with a negative attitude can be a cancer of sorts to any orgination with a strong team foundation.
The negative attitude needs to be identified and changed as soon as possible.
Jesus,
You are right on target with this post. If we just ignore the negative individuals, then they can potentialy cause more negativity. Listening to them and showing that you understand their concerns is the perfect way to turn the negativity into positive. Great post!
As the readings suggest, negative employees have a strong influence on the success of a team and an organization. I think it is easy for people to fall in line with someone who is speaking negatively about someone else or something within the organization because telling that person that you don't agree with them or arguing with them isn't something people look forward to doing. In these situations, I think it's important to listen to the negative individual and try to figure out the root of their concerns and then come up with a plan to try to change their viewpoint. In some instances, these individuals just want to vent, in others there looking for some type of acknowledgement. In any case, ignoring these individuals will only lead to more negative behaviors. We need to make sure we address these people either individually or in a group but we need to make sure we listen. I think little by little we can make an impact on negative individuals in the work place.
The best thing is to never tell jokes because you never know who you may offend. You can have what I call "Swirls"...just light fun humorous moments where everyone can chuckle about little things as they occur.
Being aware of what people are saying and noting what words they use is really a good indicator of where people are at. One needs to be particularly careful when talking to people of different cultures because often a statement made is easily misinterpreted and what may seem to be a postiive comment can appear to be a negative comment to another person. In many of our meetings, we have to tell the student that "this is a joke." Jokes need to be carefully managed.
Christy,
We know that it takes eleven positive to out weight the one negative. Plus students are used to hearing the negative and are naturally drawn to it. It is important to be aware of our conversations and comments with students and others within the facility.
