Bad Person … Bad Fit … BIG Difference

Nancy Ortberg
This article provided by the Engstrom Institute

So, I didn't actually get fired, but if it had been anything more than a two-week temporary job, I would have. I should have been fired.

Over Christmas break my sophomore year in college, a friend asked me if I would fill in for her while she and her husband went back east to visit family. She did administrative work for a company that developed the plastic coating for the insides of dishwashers. Sounded fascinating.

How hard could it be? She was a one person front office, and most of her work was typing carbon duplicate copies (if you are under forty, please Google the previous three words, in order) for shipping and receiving orders. I wanted to help out a friend.

Every day I left the office with my purse STUFFED full of mistyped carbon forms. This was before the days of a "backspace" key, which easily corrects mistakes. No, in those days, your mistakes were rather permanent, changed only with copious amounts of whiteout on each of the four carbon copies, leaving a reminder of your errors. My purse was only full after I had surreptitiously packed the restroom trash can full, being careful to lay paper towels over the top so no one could see what was in there.

Every day for two weeks, I woke up with a stomach ache. Every day I went home, convincing myself that I would do better tomorrow. But the trash cans and my purse, remained full.

Actually I did do my friend a favor. They were THRILLED when she returned.

There is a big difference between a bad fit and a bad person. Lots of times, leadership is about the courage to make that distinction. Too often we hide behind the fear of being perceived as calling someone a bad person, when the reality is, they are a bad fit. Many organizations have allowed people to remain in positions (paid or volunteer) for which they are poorly suited. Everyone suffers when that happens.

• The organization suffers. When someone is in the wrong position, vision, strategy, and results can suffer. The department or overall organization fails to live up to its God-given potential. The organization is crippled in its efforts to be all that it could be. That is not God's design.
• Individuals suffer. The people who work with and for a person not well suited for their role, inevitably languish in some regard. They either fail to get the support, recognition or resources they need to do their job, or they are neglected in areas of discipleship or growth.

It is one of the fundamental jobs of leadership to make sure that the right people are in the right positions in an organization. Leaders who take action and initiative to make sure this is the case engender trust. Those who don't create cynicism and mistrust.

Certainly, systems can provide an infrastructure to support the alignment of the right people in the right positions. Things like hiring according to job descriptions and giftedness, 360 degree reviews, performance feedback and 1-1's are all necessary to accomplish this.

But the right person in the right position is more than a systems issue. Out in front of the systems must be the movement to intercept entropy at its earliest signs, courageous conversations and deadlines for resolution. A leader's observations and questions for a person who may not be in the area of greatest 'fit' will help move this process along in healthy ways. The bad fit may be in areas of character or competency or both.

When an organization is relentless in having people who are the right fit, it flourishes. No trash cans full of mistyped forms. Leaders owe that to the organizations we lead.

SIDEBAR

Five Signs of a 'Bad Fit'

1. Lack of Results
2. Lack of Energy
3. Excuses/Blaming
4. Spectator More Than a Participant
5. Cynicism, Pessimism

Nancy Ortberg served as a Teaching Pastor for 8 years at Willow Creek Community Church. During that time she lead the Network ministry, helping people identify their spiritual gifts and find a place of service in the church, and Axis, for the 18-20 something generation. Currently Nancy is doing church consulting and speaking on topics of community, leadership development and organizational dynamics in the church.