OK… we’ll start this week by talking in code. Even though the inappropriate word above is now widely used on network television, and even Bill Cosby has uttered it from his lips, I’m pretty sure if I repeat the word several times in one post, a number of firewalls will catch it, and I won’t be able to spread the gospel this week.
For our purposes, the code word will be “O-ring”.
I was once told that in this world there are two types of people: Idiots and O-rings. Your label is determined by your behaviour, and everyone has acted as both an idiot and an O-ring at various points in their lives. Some particularly talented people have managed to be both simultaneously, earning the title “idiot-hole”.
When asked if I thought I was an idiot or an O-ring, I struggled for which term I found less offensive, and more importantly what sort of behaviour qualifies one for membership in each category. The definition of “idiot” is reasonably clear. Anytime you’ve made an unbelievably stupid choice, you qualify as an idiot. In my case, I was clearly an idiot when I agreed to sit through a “short video presentation” (with a complementary cocktail) when I was on vacation in Mexico many years ago.
The definition of O-ring is somewhat more illusive. I canvassed a number of people to try to determine exactly what would qualify someone to be labeled an O-ring. As it turns out whenever someone else does something we don’t like, they are an O-ring. Case in point: traffic. Of all the people driving within a 100km radius of your vehicle, there is you, and all the other O-rings on the road.
This revelation naturally led me to examine my own behaviour when I was an Operations Manager with many direct reports. I arrived at the unmistakable conclusion that I was a tremendous O-ring. I’m not talking about an occasional O-ring maneuver, but rather a full-time job of simply being an O-ring. My entire work world was an infinite series of actions and decisions that at other people didn’t like. If I could go back in time, I’d change my title to AC (O-ring in charge).
So, is it possible to be a manager without being an O-ring? Probably not. Would you want to be a manager that’s not an O-ring? Only if you want to be an idiot.
This week we talk about how improving your ability to communicate constructively, you might avoid being labeled an O-ring.