photo: a bar in Miami’s Little Havana
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Don’t Be One of Those
I’ve worked with some real jerks over the years; you probably have too. I’m thinking about those guys who seemed to go out of their way to step on toes, push people around, and undermine their colleagues.
Those obnoxious one-time coworkers and bosses have been on my mind as I’ve watched the Matt Gaetz drama unfold.
You know Donald Trump promised to nominate Gaetz for Attorney General only to run into a buzzsaw of opposition on Capitol Hill. There’s a sex scandal involved—allegations of paying young women for their “company,” including at least one 17-year-old girl.
Bad as that sounds, I don’t think it’s the real reason the Gaetz nomination was torpedoed. Let’s face it, Gaetz isn’t the only one of Trump’s cabinet choices with an unsavory personal history. The current Congress seems to be quite tolerant of behavior that not-so-long-ago would have scuttled a candidate.
No, it’s not about the sex.
If inappropriate sexual behavior were the issue, we’d be seeing resistance to other nominees, and even to Donald Trump himself.
When the president-elect told Gaetz, “You don’t have the votes,” there was something else at work.
The big problem for the former Congressman is this. His colleagues just don’t like him.
Democrats who’ve served with Gaetz loathe him for his vicious rhetoric, flagrant personal attacks, and egregious grandstanding. His fellow Republicans don’t hold him in any higher regard. That’s especially true for supporters of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Gaetz led the charge to depose McCarthy from the office he’d spent his whole career seeking.
You know what they say about being decent to people on the way up, because you’ll meet some of those same people on the way down? Gaetz wasn’t. And he did. And his way down was precipitous drop.
Nobody shed a tear when the karma train came around and ran right over Matt Gaetz.
Yes, there’s a moral to the story.
Most of us don’t do our work in the glare of cameras, microphones, and public attention. We toil in the vineyards at an office or a warehouse or working from home at our kitchen table.
We do engage with all kinds of people though. Colleagues, clients or customers, bosses, and other professional connections. And the Gaetz saga is a reminder of how important their impressions of us are.
Success at work, wherever we do it, depends to some degree on how we do what we do—call it technical competence. But our job skills are not the most important issue.
In his cover story for The Atlantic, David Brooks writes about the meritocracy, and its manifest failures. It’s a fascinating article. One nugget that jumped out at me focused on why people lose their jobs. Brooks cites an organizational leadership expert who studied that very question. And found that for 11 percent of people who get fired or get bad performance reviews, it happens because they lack technical competence.
And the rest?
“For the other 89 percent,” Brooks writes, “the failures were due to social or moral traits that affected their job performance—sour temperament, uncoachability, low motivation, selfishness. They failed because they lacked the right noncognitive skills.”
Ah yes, the so-called “soft skills.” Workers without them are in trouble. Even if they’re high-powered, loud-mouthed congressmen seeking a cabinet position. Certainly, if they’re us.
So how are your soft skills?
I’m guessing, just because you and I are connected and I like you, that nobody feels about you the way the typical congressional representative feels about Matt Gaetz.
Still, it’s worth pondering. When it comes to listening, formulating your ideas and speaking in a way that makes an impact, teamwork, and other communication skills, how would you rate? Would the people who interact with you give you high marks for those “noncognitive skills”?
I’m eager to hear your answer, and not only because I speak to groups about those very skills and how to develop them. Also, if you’ve ever worked with a Gaetz-type character, tell us that story, will you? Leave a comment below.
Another excellent article, Catherine. I totally agree that Gaetz’s moral failings were just a convenient excuse to oust a man who had made too many enemies on the Hill. As a Floridian, I am especially happy about it!
My last boss was a total jerk; a different variation but equally dangerous and disgusting. He was a con artist who took advantage of everyone but got by with it for a long time because he was a good salesman and a convincing liar, who could be quite charming. I left before he landed in trouble, but the last I heard he had gotten out somehow and had a new gig that I feel sure was just another scam. Perhaps he is more like Trump than Gaetz …. I take solace in the belief that the karma train eventually catches up with everyone
The president-elect seems to have dodged that train for a long time now, Linda. But for most of us, yes, karma catches up.
Catherine,
As always a spot on article. I always appreciate your insightful way of explaining a situation. I have worked for two such people, one male and one female. I often felt while working for them that I was the wrong one for seeing that their behavior was inexcusable, especially for someone who was supposed to be a leader. I am grateful that after that I started my own business and was fortunate enough to be surrounded by wonderful successful people.
Starting a business of our own is one way to make sure we work with decent people, Judy! Of course, it means that I need to watch my own tongue. I don’t think I ever descend to the level of “those people,” but I know I can be impatient and sharp and I’ve learned to be careful about that.