Do You Have a Grinder?
Do you have "Grinders" on your team?
Grinders are individuals who do awesome work for a few days and then seem to mentally check out and not accomplish what they're normally capable of.
Mike Zani, CEO of The Predictive Index, talks about these members of your team, the Grinders, as your untapped resource. In his book, Building Dream Teams, Mike says that by focusing in on the Grinders in your organization you'll get the "biggest bang for your buck."
So how do you know if you have a Grinder?
Well, do you have someone who performs great, gets a ton accomplished, and even motivates others around them???
And then, a few days later surprises you by being late to work, hardly getting the bare minimum done, and even dragging others down by their attitude, conversation, etc.?
You may have a Grinder there!
WHAT TO DO? 4 SIMPLE STEPS
1. TALK:
Start with a conversation...yeah, let's keep it simple.
Talk to them about what's going on in their lives...be curious, find out what they’ve got going on.
Remember: Your a caring aunt here, not member of the Spanish Inquisition!
Caveman Breakdown: They talk, You Listen
2. BE IMPRESSED:
Tell them how impressed you were by what they were able to get accomplished. Be specific with your praise, too! Tell them exactly what impressed you about their accomplishments.
3. HONEST
Be honest with them about what you would like them to become in your organization.
Give them a vision (not a promise or some corporate position to attain to), A VISION.
A vision of where you can see them and what you can see them doing.
Tell them its YOUR JOB to "polish the diamonds" (and, that's exactly how you see them, as a Diamond!). Share with them that ultimately you want to help them perform at their peak, day-in and day-out.
4.ASK
Ask them the following two questions...
1. What roadblocks do you have that prevent you from peak performance?
Make them give you some problems...”I don't know,” won't suffice.
[Key the awkward silence until you get the roadblock(s) you feel are legit.]
Now, here's the BIG ONE and this can go a long way in getting your Grinder on your All-Star Team...
2. What can I DO WITH YOU to help remove those roadblocks FOR YOU?
Make this a team activity, it's not your job to come in as Superman and solve all of their problems.
Let them know that you're here to fix this, BUT you need their help. Whenever possible, get them actively solving this roadblock along with you, then they'll be more likely to push forward since it's their brainchild too.
(This also works great for accountability in future check-ins.)
So, look for these Grinders in your organization. Have a conversation with them.
Help them, they could very well end up being your Diamonds!