Great Managers Find Silver and Gold in Misfit Team Members
by Ben Vanderneck, CareerSource Suncoast
How many corporate tales of triumph begin with a couple of misfits? Pals whose strengths were never
recognized; innovators who were laughed out of the room. Santa Global Enterprises, an organization based
out of the North Pole, narrowly avoided catastrophe by managing to retain two such exceptional talents, Chief
of Dentistry Hermey the Elf and Reindeer Team Lead Rudolph. It involved a change in management
philosophy bigger than the Abominable Snow Monster of the North.
First-Level Leader: The Head Elf
People skills account for 80% of success as a first-level leader1 – based on this standard, the head elf was a
dismal failure. His idea of leadership was affecting a strange fawning voice to cue his team’s song for Santa,
then barking harsh criticism afterward. Good critical feedback is "infused with a spirit of support... sharing
observations and impact, asking questions, giving answers, and formulating an action plan for the future."2
Asking questions may have led him to know why his tenor section was weak … Hermey was entirely
unmotivated to show up!
Speaking of Hermey, the #1 reason that employees sing “I Quit” is a poor relationship with their supervisor or
manager.3 Hermey’s overall development goals are in the dental field, but rather than focusing on this strength
– potentially saving the organization on dental insurance costs, for example – the head elf wants to expend
less productive effort on Hermey’s weaknesses: toymaking, saying hee-hee-ho-ho, and the like. The manager
is squashing the potential and engagement of an innovative employee who now would rather take his chances
out with the Bumble.
Manager: Santa
Santa’s people skills are ho-ho-horrible too. His reaction to the elf team’s song project is brutally lacking in
effective feedback. What “needs work” – the melody, the words, the tenor section? – and who are the team
members for the job? Songs seem to play a key role in this workplace culture, and making this one a winner is
important for your organization, Santa.
The organizational structure places the reindeer team directly under Santa, but much like Hermey, Rudolph’s
strengths as a potential hire are flat-out ignored, and worse. Santa may not be piling on the calories, but he’s
full of unconscious bias. Red-nosed reindeer are… bad luck? Inferior? Certainly, a metaphor for bias of your
choice, one so severe that it blocks out Rudolph’s obvious strength (he’s a great flyer) and a hidden talent
(navigational skills).
Cultivating this talent contributes to team diversity. Diverse teams are more innovative than homogenous
groups4 – look at how the reindeer team was able to solve the seemingly impossible problem of canceling
Christmas. Hermey also contributes to the diversity of his team; who knows what future innovation this may
bring. Why don’t they try making dolls with teeth?
Their greatest crisis averted, the management team completely rethought their perspective, showing support
and trust for the strengths of their star hires. The head elf backed Hermey’s dental career track to the point of
accepting a cleaning appointment, and Santa made sure to plan his route according to Rudolph’s
recommendations, with the first drop-off at the Island of Misfit Toys. The story of this case study is now a
“founding legend” reinforcing the organization’s core values of innovation, support & trust, and has become
somewhat well-known.
Sources
1. 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team, FranklinCovey
2. “10 Examples of How to Give More Effective Critical Feedback”, Jhana.com
3. 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team, FranklinCovey
4. “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter”, Katherine Phillips, Scientific American