Today, I am going to use the wayback machine and go back a number of years when I was Managing an Information Systems department. Looking back, there are a few things that I need to give thanks for. I had a few bad apples in my barrell, some troublesome staff that required too much of my time and energy. I have always been of the bveliefe that when you collect a pay cheque, you are morally obligated to earn it. I also had a deep personal beliefe that everyone should strive to do the best possible job they could do. These are not widely held beliefs and I found myself and my beliefs at odds with a few staff. Granted, they probably were not aware of some of the drama and toxicity they were bringing to the work group. I have some pretty decent problem solving skills in my toolset, and to me these were merely just problems to solve. I had a certain arrogance in thinking I could change or alter negative behaviour in others. That would cause me a great deal of stress, strife, and disharmony.

I guess as a manager, we are often faced with a fork in the road where we can pursue the goals of the organization, or we can try to be best buddies with our staff. Hopefully, these objectives are not mutually exclusive, but there are times when they most certainly are. At that juncture, I will always pursue the mandate of the organization, (assuming of course that the mandate is ethical & moral). I am not afraid of hurting feelings and drawing my sword to do battle with the entitlement monster. In those days, when I felt some of my staff were in need of guidance and coaching, I tried too hard to muake apple juice out of the bad apples. I was personally, emotionally, and professionally tested and stretched in a number of ways. It was a very draining period for me.

My wife had told me at the time that she admired my dedication to be an agent of change, and although a noble cause, changing people is the most difficult thing to change. That statement resonated with me and grew from a mere conversational statement to a philosophy and approach to bad apples. I eventually left Information Systems and Management to pursue a career to focus more on project management, process improvement, and strategic planning. I drew many lessons from my tenure as a manager and having a diverse staff. Eseesntially I learned to focus more energy on the good apples. Performance issues with bad staff need to be addressed, it is more a question of how. Instead of trying to change the person, my belief is to outline the errant behaviour or are of poor performance. Target the performance and put a measurement in place that establishes a clear expectation. If the expectation is met; great. If the expectation is not met; it is time to make a change. Most of the time, releasing a poor performer from their job is the best thing you can do for them. If they want to or are capable of change and growth, this is often the catalyst to make it happen. They will pursue something better suited to their skills and attitude, and a bad apple will be removed from the barrell. I know this sounds like common sense and most of you probably already knew this, but this was an arduous lesson for me to learn. I learned to let go of the arrogance that led me to believe I could actually change people. Target a behaviour, not the person.

Without those struggles, I would not have learned the lessons I did. The bad apples taught me skills for conflict management, change management, and other areas of personal growth. I am a better person today because of them. Today the good apples, look so much the better with my altered perspective. Life is a hell of a lot more harmonious. Life is better.Thanks to the bad apples whose bitter lessons have turned into sweet reflections.

“Goodness comes out of people who bask in the sun, as it does out of a sweet apple roasted before the fire.” ~ Charles Dudley Warner