Ostomy Memories of Ineptitude

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HenryM

A COLLEAGUE is a person with whom one works, not necessarily in the same squad or division, but at least for the same organization. When my spouse worked for the federal government, she would bring home tales of disorganization and inefficiency that would really irritate me. Later on, she worked in the private sector but the stories she told me were still infuriating. The government does not have a monopoly on ineptitude.
People problems seem to predominate. There will always be folks who are not as good at their jobs as others, but that’s something that good management is supposed to cure. If a member of your team is not holding up his end, and intervention doesn’t seem to improve the situation, than perhaps it’s not the job for him.
But managers are often among those not up to their jobs. Many places promote workers into management without the proper preparation and training. It takes a person who is good at what they do to guide others in doing it. Another roadblock to dealing properly with incompetence is called tenure. Length of service can often stand in the way of getting rid of the laggards. In addition, incompetence is an amorphous thing, not as readily identified as, say, dishonesty or theft.
I have had colleagues who seemed at first glance to be working as hard as I was. But one should never mistake activity for progress. A spinning top goes nowhere, even though appearing just as tired at the end of the day as everyone else. Managing one’s time is something that can be learned and benefits all one’s co-workers, since one team member’s ineptness impacts those around him.
Runts in the litter are a natural occurring phenomenon. We just have to help them find the right position in life. As baseball manager Danny Ozark once said, commenting upon one of his error-prone infielders, “His limitations are limitless.”

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Bill

Hello HenryM.
I think most of us can identify with the concept of ineptitude in some of our colleagues. However, the characteristics of ineptitude, incompetence, and uselessness never really irritated me as much as those traits of ‘deliberateness’, deviousness, cunning and bullying in achieving similar ends.
Best wishes
Bill

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HenryM

Interesting juxtaposition, Bill.  I'm put off by people who perform poorly, and you're miffed by those who overdo it.  It's probably a good thing that we're both retired.

Bill

Just one small correction - I am not yet retired, I am now doing different jobs where both types of people we have been talking about simply don't exist.

Best wishes

Bill

w30bob

Henry wrote

"But managers are often among those not up to their jobs. Many places promote workers into management without the proper preparation and training. It takes a person who is good at what they do to guide others in doing it."

Being a government worker, I know better than most what you're talking about. But one possible flaw in your statement "It takes a person who is good at what they do to guide others in doing it." is that you're assuming that everyone who is good at something has the ability to convey to others what makes them good at it. Managing people is an art, and very few actually excel at it. In engineering, where I work, engineers are routinely promoted to supervisory positions, as that is a defined career path. But engineering is vastly different from managing or supervising.....and most engineers who excel at being given a problem to solve usually suck at dealing with people, never mind guiding or managing them. Most get by, but in my 30 years, I can count on two fingers the number of engineers who I've seen be excellent managers or supervisors. And all received the appropriate training. It comes down to people skills, and training be damned, you either have them or you don't.

Tenure is an interesting creature. It really should be called a length of service award and job security guarantee. I've never understood the point to it, as it basically protects those who were hired to deliver a certain level of performance in the event they can no longer perform to that previous level. In college, I had an engineering teacher who I had for my Fluids class. The guy was so bad he'd assign us problems for homework.....and the next day when he tried to solve those problems in front of the class.....he'd get confused and never complete any of them. During the following semester, he came up for tenure and there was an obligatory open forum where anyone could make comments either for or against his getting tenure in front of the faculty board. Being naive and thinking it actually mattered, myself and a group of his former students made a case for him not getting tenure, citing numerous examples of his incompetence or ineptitude. We were pretty sure we made a strong case, but were shocked when we learned the next day that the board unanimously approved his tenure. It was then we realized the fix was in, and we had just wasted our time and alienated ourselves with the other faculty. Live and learn, I guess.

Regards,

Bob

 
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HenryM

You're right in your observations, of course.  Engineers are a perfect example, as are teachers who may know their subject but are ill-equipped to convey it understandably and interestingly.  I didn't mean to imply, when I said it takes someone who is good at what they do to guide others, that one necessarily followed the other, altho' I can see how you concluded that.  Knowing a subject doesn't automatically mean that you have the talent to convey it to others.  Engineers, in your example, aren't trained to be communicators.  Plus, no field of endeavor is without its runts in the litter.  You just have to hope the runts can find a home where they can thrive without harming or holding up others.  Onward & upward, my friend.

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