Roadblocks, Hoarders and Blamers: Eliminate the Ugly Signs of Job Insecurity

Have you ever worked with someone who was protective of their knowledge, unwilling to help others to learn and grow and who were acting as roadblocks in the company? These people are defensive about everything, quickly shifting blame to others when something goes wrong and they never admit their failures or shortcomings. They don’t try to hire great people, and sometimes chase off high performers because they need to be the brightest light in the room. I’ve seen this profile too many times to count, and it kills morale, productivity and innovation in organizations, which ultimately impairs results.

The first step in eliminating these behaviors from your organization is to understand the source of them, which is fear and insecurity in your teams. In this hyper-competitive world where neither companies nor employees show much if any loyalty to each other, people often become insecure in their roles and afraid of losing their jobs and incomes. These people have stopped trying to perform at a high level so they can be promoted and are now solely focused on holding onto their jobs with everything they’ve got. I’ve heard people describe this as being in “job protect mode”.

“If your focus is on protecting your job instead of performing at your best, you may find yourself out of a job sooner than you expect.”

The unfortunate irony of being in job protect mode is that it produces the exact behavior and performance that will likely get the person terminated. Companies don’t want employees to hoard knowledge and information and push others down in order to make themselves appear more valuable. If you want to become indispensable to your company and secure in your role, there is a counterintuitive approach you need to take as an employee: Resist the temptation to focus on your own job security as an outcome. I call this approach “working without a net”. The basic premise is that if you are focused on protecting your job, then you probably aren’t focused on doing your job to the best of your ability. In order to perform at a high level, your entire focus needs to be on the goals, objectives and actions that will help your company to succeed in its mission while holding true to its values. This is the path to becoming a high performer, which companies will actively work to keep on the team, as opposed to a roadblock that companies will look to remove.

Keys to Working Without a Net:

• Focus on the goals of your company and delivering value in your role, and resist the temptation to focus on your personal agenda
• Act as a role model in living the values of the company
• Be a source of talent and a mentor to others to help develop talent for your organization
• Give credit freely and don’t blame others for mistakes
• Be open, approachable, flexible and helpful

By taking these steps, it’s much more likely that you’ll be a valued high performer instead of a roadblock that must be overcome. Additionally, as a high performer, more opportunities will be available to you both in the company and in other companies, which will provide much higher job security than the path taken by the job protectors.

“Companies fail to realize that they are the ones creating the fertile fields of fear and insecurity in which this counter-productive behavior germinates.”

So far, I’ve focused on what the employee can do to stay out of job protect mode, but management has to take an active role in this process as well. Often times, companies fail to realize that they are the ones creating the fertile fields of fear and insecurity in which this counter-productive behavior germinates. Ultimately, the quality and consistency of the company culture will drive the behavior of the employees, good or bad. Companies need to start by having a clear mission and a set of values that have teeth. But that’s only the beginning and companies need to do more to solve this issue.

One of the most common causes that I’ve seen for job protect mode is when companies promote people to their highest level of capability (assuming they don’t get promoted one step beyond their capability as described by the famous Peter Principle). This sounds like a good thing, getting the most out of your people, but if you think about it, it can have some risks as well. If you have a person who has a prestigious role in the company and they’re not qualified and capable of being promoted from it to the next level, they may start to become insecure about their future and slip into job protect mode. They realize that they aren’t going to have an opportunity to move higher with the company and naturally start to build fortifications to hold the ground that they have. If efforts are not made to give them a long-term career path with the company, severe problems are likely to surface down the road.

Keys for Companies to Inspire Employees to Work without a Net:

• Foster a culture of openness and candor that is documented in the values and embodied by the management.
• Actively develop people to improve their skills and capabilities, reducing the likelihood of them hitting their personal ceiling.
• Always have a career path planned for each person before you promote them. As a part of this plan, you need to have options for lateral moves if needed to prevent job protect mode and to provide opportunities for advancement for other high performers in your organization. In this way, you are providing a safety net so your people don’t need to create their own.
• Confront problems early on with job protectors by addressing their fear and insecurity by giving them clear expectations regarding their behavior. Show them a path forward for their career that will provide them with a long-term future with the company so long as they can commit to working without a net.

Employees and companies should be on the same page with regard to eliminating job protect mode since it isn’t healthy for either party. It’s a terrible place to be if you fear for your job and wonder each day if today is your last, and the negative behavior it can produce in employees is counterproductive for the company, impairing performance and reducing morale. By addressing this issue individually as employees and at an organizational level within companies, we can improve the culture and morale of the organization while simultaneously improving performance. All you have to do is focus on the goals, objectives and activities that will make you a high performer….and most importantly, don’t look down!

Chris Slotten is a senior executive, leadership and organization expert, thought leader, business coach and consultant, with more than 25 years of experience in helping a wide variety of companies to achieve outstanding results. View additional articles from Chris at: www.chrisslotten.com

Follow on Twitter @Chris_Slotten

Originally published at www.chrisslotten.com.