Brian de Haaff* says beware of the colleague who does the least work on a project but seeks to claim the most credit for it.
I bet you will recognise this person. Let’s call him Cary.
He’s the one who lurks at the corner of every project.
Cary claims the team’s work as his own, without any real effort put forth.
He has plenty to say too, but when you ask for deeper detail or the thinking behind the work, he gets flustered.
It is not so easy to go off script. Why?
The reason Cary cannot explain the work is because he does not do the work in the first place.
Where do you find Cary? Usually at big, slow-moving organisations.
With so many people working on every project, it is easy to fade into the background without having to get too involved.
Freeloaders are able to present work as their own.
It is convenient to play the part of active contributor — despite having contributed very little.
However, this is not unique to big organisations.
It can happen in organisations of all sizes, especially when goals and responsibilities are not clear.
Sometimes it can be hard to recognise the signs.
You know it to be true when you ask detailed questions about work that was just completed and someone just repeats a few high-level descriptions — over and over again.
The truth is that it is impossible to make a meaningful impact without being fully engaged and doing actual work.
There are many reasons that a Cary may emerge at your office.
It could be that there is something going on in their personal life that is making it difficult to fully commit and be present with teammates.
No matter what the underlying reasons are, the problem is that disengaged teammates who point to others’ contributions as their own hurt everyone.
No one really feels any joy when this is going on.
Do you see a bit of yourself in Cary? This can be tough to admit.
Here are a few of the signs that I have seen when working with folks like this in the past.
No focus:
Maybe the team leaders have failed to set and share a clear strategy and identify who is accountable for what.
However, Cary is not stopping to consider the ‘why’ behind the work either.
There is a tendency to jump at every opportunity and pull every thread without following through.
No curiosity:
What did we learn from our last project? How should we evaluate success moving forward?
These are all questions Cary should ask, but does not.
Since this person is not engaged in the work, there is no curiosity about how to make it better.
This is often the result of being indifferent, but no matter the cause, without curiosity, there is no individual or team growth.
No accountability:
Yes, Cary gets flustered when others doubt vigorous claims of super-human contributions.
It is natural to want to avoid embarrassment.
So he gets defensive and small accomplishments are presented as game-changers.
Before you worry, know that we all probably see elements of ourselves in Cary.
No one wants to be like Cary.
The first step is to be honest with yourself if you are disengaged.
Try to identify the behaviour and situations that are holding you back from being fully present.
Then think through how you can start addressing why you are not bringing your best.
It is not possible to be deeply involved in every project, but the difference is we should be fully engaged in what we are responsible for.
In the process, you will know the details of your work, understand your real impact, and help the team grow too.
How do you ensure that you are really engaged in your work?
*Brian de Haaff is the Chief Executive of cloud-based software company Aha! He can be contacted on Twitter@bdehaaff.
This article first appeared on the Aha! company website.
