6 Ways To Be a Successful Team Member (#5)

5. Avoid The Negative Ones

You know who they are; they have infiltrated every organization. They are the reasons I write my bi-weekly newsletter. They are THE NEGATIVE ONES.

They are the doom and gloomers. They talk negatively of every decision. They talk negatively of others. They are unhappy, miserable and feel entitled. And the kicker....................

Did you ever notice they seem to find each other? !?!?!?!?! It's like they have Naysaydar, kinda like Gaydar, but for negative people, the ability to seek out, find and feed off of all the other negative naysayers.

And while you may be laughing and think this is funny, as a speaker I can usually spot them in the crowd. They are the ones sitting there thinking they can learn nothing; they know it all. They are the ones in the cafeteria and other common areas just sucking the life out of everyone they come into contact with. They ought to be canned! They bring down employee morale. They are disengaged. They crush productivity.

STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE.

Stay far away.

Run. Run......As Fast As You Can.

They can ruin your career.

They can get you branded or labeled as one of them

- squashing all aspirations of advancement.

Years ago I held a sales position; a new sales person had just joined the company. She was bright, smart, funny, sarcastic (in a good way) and a go-getter. She had promise. I was excited about the skills she was going to bring to the rest of us. She then met two of the "miserable ones" and began getting sucked in to the garbage. I contacted our territory manager and suggested she step in and save what I saw as a Rising Star. The manager did nothing. Eventually the Rising Star became one of the most avoided. Too bad - for everyone; especially the customer.

Surprised? Shocked? Don't be; this is happening right now. Heck for all I know there may be people avoiding you. Yikes!

Look around your organization. Who are the ones you need to be avoiding? You have my Permission. More importantly; you'll be happier.

Or take it one step further. Take a look at your life. Who is just sucking the energy out of you? Who is just "too much work?" Is it time to sever the relationship. Don't be afraid; there are happy, helpful, fun, motivational people waiting to enter your life. You'll be glad you released the negative energy.