What is a baditude you may ask? Well it’s my made up word for Bad Attitude. Some how addressing a baditude is easier than saying you have a bad attitude. Now in full transparency, at least once a quarter I have a baditude. I catch myself quickly and put myself in isolation. Generally this involves pizza, wine and Ben & Jerry’s. Four days out of the month isn’t too bad but sometimes we all deal with some baditudes more frequently.
When I managed 20 people I couldn’t stand a baditude. They mainly came from overwork, lack of belief in company changes and personal issues at home. I just didn’t care, we didn’t have time to pout. Also, I strongly believe a baditude solves nothing but generates more office drama. There are generally four types of baditudes:
- Situational: This comes and goes fast. Something happened and the person reacts negatively.
- Temporary: This happens when the heat is on in the kitchen and the team is short staffed. There is a new hill we have to climb or someone has an personal issue that is impending them.
- The forever Eeyore: This person is born negative, only an act of God would change them.
- The slow decline: This person is generally a Tigger but they have for the past few months taken a decline. They aren’t the same person. Maybe they are burned out (toasted), they have more than a temporary personal issue or they are flat out in disagreement with the direction of the company. This is often the most dangerous because you always remember their glory days. Your team also sees a rockstar decline and often they can follow suit.
No matter the type of baditude, it needs to be addressed. A bad attitude in your office is completely unprofessional and it hurts your customers, the agency and the team. Many badituders don’t want to live that way and by calling them out (while uncomfortable for 10 minutes) can really change things for the long run. Here is your badidute reversal process:
- Attempt 1: Give them the Eeyore in your office. What, you don’t have one? You need to get a Tigger to give out when people are psyched and an Eeyore as a friendly reminder to get back in line. This is a great non direct way to tell someone you notice.
- Attempt 2: Call them in, tell them you care about them and you have noticed their attitude deteriorate. Let them vent, maybe it’s something you can fix.
- Attempt 3: This is the more stern heart to heart. The “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed in you talk”. Allude that if it doesn’t improve, there will be further action.
- Attempt 4: 90 Day Performance Improvement Plan. Outline your expectations, if they can’t hit it you have to move on.
I know it sounds harsh BUT by the time you notice the baditude, it’s most likely been 30 days and between the 4 attempts, you are probably at 6 months of a baditude. We love bringing positivity to agencies. Don’t let a bad attitude get you down. Call your favorite insurance agency consultants Agency Performance Partners.
