Duals & Duets on the Subject of Work

Street Feet in a Panic

Street Feet here and in true ARSE- fashion I’m cutting Betty the Beater off before she’s done talking.

I’ve got something to say, and confession is good for the soul, so here I go...

I too may be an a-hole.

Now, sure, I could have lied on the test ,I’m smart enough to answer the questions so I’d come out with a score of  2 or 3, but why do that? I’ve got perfume in my bag, I’ll use it if I want to smell good!

And there’s also my friend Ivory Towers ,  she’s such a braniac. She always finds a way to poke holes in a test that draws a blanket conclusion about anyone. She’ll take time out for me even if she’s too busy to blog much.

“So Ivory,” I say. “There’s this ARSE test on-line, and the guy who made it up, he’s from Stanford.”

“Bob Sutton?” she says. “He’s a smart guy. What’s the URL for the test?”

I tell her, even though I hate it that she multi-tasks while I whine.

“You must have really blown it at the early part of this test,” she says. I can tell that she's flipping through its screens.

“And so?”

“You’re not wired like manager,” she says. “You’re not good boss material, you know that.”

“I do?” I say. I want her to tell me about me.

“ You’re too independent a thinker,” she snickers. “Too impatient, creative, innovative, entrepreneurial.”

“And?”

“ We’ve talked about this,” she says. “It often takes one kind of person to start a company and another kind to make it run well. The trick for people like you is knowing when to step back. And you’ve done that.”

“So I don’t have to worry about being an a-hole manager?

“Not if you’re not a manager,” she says. “Not everyone is a manager or should be. Management may be what people reach for as they climb the corporate ladder but it’s not the only way to success.”

“So I’d fail as a manager?” I say.

“You could script yourself with right behaviors and practice restraint.”

“And then I’d be successful,” I say.

“Successful? What does that mean?”

“Rich? Powerful?” I say.

I know she thinks this a shallow and narrow view of success.

“A lot of a-holes are rich and powerful” she says.

“Is the a-hole thing nature or nurture?” I say.

“Maybe both,” she says. “Did you call me up so I’d tell you you’re not an a-hole? Or was it so I’d tell you that you’re not responsible for acting like an a-hole?”

“Ivory!” I say.

“Read the no a-hole rules of engagement on Guy Kawasaki's blog,” she says. "Print a copy and sign it. Have everyone else in your office do the same, so that you’re all held accountable.”

“But if the a-hole thing is in my genes,” I say.

“You pick the jeans you show up in. Now I’ve really got to go,” she says.

“Me too,” I say. I’ll use any excuse to go shopping

Not Myers-Briggs

Are You an ARSE? (I may be.)

Betty the Beater, that's what someone called me today. Perhaps I deserved it; I had failed to champion their honest efforts. They had tried hard and performed marginally (but caused no harm) and I let them know it. Maybe I was partly to blame because I had failed to provide detailed guidance.

Now I'm not stupid, I know good team leaders are supposed to set team members up to win. But i didn't have time. And, What needs to be done and how, it seemed obvious. It is obvious...Right? Maybe not.

This is Part One of a two-pronged post. Guy Kawasaki made me aware of Bob Sutton's test, Are You A Certified Asshole? Find Out With the Asshole Rating Self-Exam (ARSE) ?

Take the test. See how your rate. We'll discuss (with a guide that Guy has generously allowed me to use) tomorrow.

I'm off to confession and then to Starbuck's (I'm jonesing for a coffee and I'm scared stiff that someone here in the office has spit in my cup!)