I love fire pits. It’s shocking it’s taken me this long to write about them. I buy dry wood from a local firewood delivery company and set up a flawless log cabin fire. And sometimes, it’s still smokey. Upon examination, there’s usually one log (often just a stick) that’s damp. It’s ruining what could be a great fire.
If you’ve got a damp log at work, they are ruining something that could be great.
You have a choice: You can either let the other logs try to overcompensate for it, or you can deal with it.
The trouble is, dealing with that damp log is uncomfortable. It means sticking my hand into the fire.
I can either be uncomfortable for ten seconds, or we can have a miserable fire (and smell like smoke) for the next two hours.
Quit allowing that one wet log to ruin what could be great. You need to call it out as soon as possible. Clarity about them is a kindness to them. You can pull them aside and help them get healthy or find the right fit.
- Take a deep breath
- Start with the vision of the group and your belief in the individual
- Be specific what you observe
- Identify what needs to change
Will it be uncomfortable? Of course. Their development is more important than your comfort.
If you don’t deal with the difficult people, great people will leave. And it won’t be the fault of the ‘wet log,’ it will be the fault of the leader.
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