Bananas: big and small
Chris Croft
★ Writer and Keynote Speaker, Project Management and Time Management, Negotiation Skills ~ UK-based
I want to tell you a tale of two bananas...
First: the main banana.
(this is from my book of Management Vegetables, available on kindle and paper from amazon, where you can find 100 more vegetables, fruit and other wonderful things like a magnet and a volcano). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes....
I love the Situational Leadership theory
In the original book the authors say that people go through a U-shaped path like this:
(in the book they draw it upside down but that’s up to them).
But I don't think I go through that path and I know that many others also don’t. Do you?? Many of us go straight across, from not competent to competent, without going down into the de-motivated part of the diagram (the u-bend of unhappiness).
And then it’s only later that we drop down into competent but de-motivated
Like this:
The only way out of this is to either get promoted, or start a new role in the same company
So then either way we find ourselves back in the top left corner as a new starter again. And every few years, we go round again. Round and round we go during our careers. Hence the Banana of Boredom…
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But as an employer you don't want your people to be incompetent a third of the time, and demotivated a third of the time - you want them to STAY in the top right box
So: what can be done??
The answer is the Mini Banana.
The idea is that as soon as your star people
© Chris Croft 2023
I hope you like this, and find it useful - who do you have that is in danger of sliding down the big banana? What can you give them to keep them up in the top right box, on the mini banana?
onwards and upwards!
CC
Reporting Analytics and Automation Specialist at Tata Consultancy Services
1yHi Chris Croft, what do I do if I feel I’m a mini banana in my current role? I’m quite competent, I am challenged daily (but surmountable), and am self-motivated to find (learn) areas of improvement; TLDR I love my role! Can a mini banana thrive within these small constructs or do I need to venture out into other opportunities?
Executive Director at Global Technology Group
1yMini Banana : Keeping stars with high competent and motivated.
Events Leader | Marketing Strategist | Brand Activation | Innovator | Operational Excellence | Partner Marketing
1yI've seen (and even managed) people who are happy with status quo. They are competent and not bored. They just like what they do and want to stay put, they're not motivated to learn anything new. It is definitely wasted potential. You should always have a growth mindset and leaders should find interesting ways to challenge their team to keep them as STARS!
Powering your projects to success
1ySo many bananas, I cannot unsee. But I'm sure I will remember this :D Good point!
Compliance and Business Transformation Executive | I transform Compliance from 'check the box' to a business driver so companies achieve results in the right way
1yThe mini banana has been exactly my experience but not because of line leaders prompting. Instead, I spoke up and either sought new challenges in the same role or another role in the same company. Thus, I grew my career and skills over the course of 26 years at the same company. I could have done the same by moving to different companies, but I was fortunate enough to find great opportunities in the same company.