EP 46: Dealing with Crap Magnets

Every day in corporate America companies deal with “crap magnets”. What is a crap magnet? Someone who’s first to gossip, holds grudges, and has a lot to say about what’s wrong in an organization without any real solutions. Almost every work environment has them. If left unchecked, they could start to suck others into their downward spiral of negativity. Sound familiar? Could you be a crap magnet?How do you deal with crap magnets?In addition to behaviors mentioned above, crap magnets often vent their frustrations at inappropriate times. If you to held a meeting to talk about negativity in the workplace, they would wait until the meeting is over to voice their frustrations. And they most complain to peers. Crap magnets rarely voice dissent to supervisors.Leaders, don’t let this behavior take hold. If you’re infested with crap magnets, try this three-step process:1 – Call them out.Crap magnets prefer to operate from the sidelines. Bringing their behavior to everyone’s attention can be uncomfortable. Which leads to #22 – Ask them to vent their frustrations in a safe environment.Crap magnets feel there is a reward for complaining outside of a meeting because they believe they can get others on their side without having to actually fix the problem. You don’t want to fight a crap magnet, you just want to get to the bottom of their attitude. Sometimes crap magnets are a symptom of a bigger workplace issue.3 – Encourage your team not to enable crap magnets.The key to high performing workplaces starts with communication, trust, and emotional intelligence. Open the lines of communication to find out exactly why someone feels so sour about their work situation. Open communication builds an environment of trust. Show your team that you trust them enough to not indulge “crap magnet” behavior.Want to work help companies deal with crap magnets? 360 Solutions has the leadership development tools and training you need to start, build, and run your own leadership development company. Work for yourself and help companies become more efficient and profitable. Visit 360solutions.com for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.