If you’re a fan of 1960’s television, you’ll definitely remember the comedy Hogan’s Heroes. If not, let me provide you with some background information. It was set in a prisoner of war camp in Germany during World War II. Lead by an American Colonel by the name of Hogan, a group of POW’s manipulate a group of bumbling German guards and officers to sabotage the German war machine.
One of the main characters in this satire was Sergeant Schultz, a big burly teddy bear of a guard who could be easily bribed with food and avoided conflict like the plague. Whenever he saw the prisoners involved in some sort of wrong doing, he would say: “I see nothing, I hear nothing and I know nothing.” Schultz would then turn around and walk away pretending as if nothing happened.
Although the TV series has been off the air for a number of years, the spirit of Sergeant Schultz continues to live on in the workplace.
I have encountered a number of supervisors and managers throughout my career who behave like Sergeant Schultz. Frequently, they postpone taking any action because they want to avoid unpleasant discussions with employees, or they don’t want to risk getting employees upset. Sometimes they just wait and wonder if the problem is really worth bringing up at all. Other times they avoid taking corrective action because they feel they don’t have the support of senior management. Sometimes, it’s because they lack the skills and abilities to manage these types of situations.
In most situations, however, procrastination works to the disadvantage of the employee, management and the organization. The longer an employee is allowed to perform at unacceptable levels, the harder it can be for them to correct that performance. An employee who performs unacceptably damages their relationships with others and loses credibility. That credibility can be very difficult to regain if the problem continues for very long.
Your credibility as a leader can also suffer, because you eventually lose the respect and cooperation of your team if you try to avoid your responsibility to coach for improvement. Unchecked poor performance and unmonitored problem behaviors erode the standards you have established by confusing and frustrating those employees who are meeting these standards.
Failure to correct a performance or work habits problem can also have far reaching effects on each member of your team. If one employee fails to produce as expected or breaks established work rules, it’s not fair to others who must pick up the slack or who rightfully expect everyone to follow the rules.
I once worked at a place where the Sergeant Schultz syndrome flourished. It was a very unhealthy work environment. Unacceptable behavior went unchecked and unchallenged and thus became the norm. Employees and management did not respect one another, absenteeism ran around 25%, morale was abysmally low and the business was suffering. There was no order or structure. It was as c lose to chaos as you could get. Needless to say, it took a tremendous amount of energy and time to turn the situation around and make the behavior changes that were required.
If you want to avoid these types of situations at your workplace, ban Sergeant Schultz. Exile him to Siberia. He’s a nice guy, but as Leo Durocher, the late manager of the Chicago Cubs once said, “Nice guys finish last.” Nobody likes to finish last!!