Let’s call him Voldemort because, well, I can’t use his real name. It’s not really one person at all. It’s more a collection of recurring red flag personalities I’ve encountered repeatedly. Let’s examine these traits in people that I try to avoid.

Wears many hats guy

He’s always busy and gets nothing done. When you ask what this guy accomplished, you’ll get a lot of words but no tangible, needle-moving value. If I hear someone repeatedly saying the phrase ‘wears many hats’ I instantly begin a mental value audit and ask questions like:

• What high level goals are you working on this week to push business forward?
• Can you pull up last week’s accomplishments?

10 times out of 10, I’ll get a deer-in-the-headlights stare. Around the third time I encountered this Voldemort, I realized the phrase ‘wears many hats’ really means ‘help, I don’t know what I’m doing’.

These people might just need a bit of guidance. If it was me, I’d maybe try to recommend a book or website about how to organize objectives to move business forward. Give them a chance to learn some new skills, and they just might begin to add real value. Then I’d move along and put the focus back onto my goals.

Bottom of the 9th guy

I’ve seen horrific scenarios, due to pure laziness, that create the perfect storm just so this guy can come in and “save” the day. This individual boasts about last minute – total chaos – we barely made it stories, regularly. And they are PROUD OF THIS.

People are a byproduct of their environment. A person with an endless repository of ‘saved the day’ stories is always participating in dysfunctional situations. Do I want that person on my team?

Guy who knows everything about everything and never stops talking

How can you learn anything if you never stop talking? Quiet people are the smartest people I know, probably because they’re expert listeners. They’re the ones with a strong wisdom cortex. Still, if you have something worthwhile to say, speak up. Being introverted is not the same as being wise.

If you think about it, listening requires you to hold back, pay attention, process and understand. The more I do this, the greater capacity for patience I have, and my patience can be used to learn more. It’s a positive feedback loop.

What should you do?

If you have one or a few of these people on your team, it might not be clear exactly what to do and this can be tricky. The people at the top in life are always working, growing and improving with the help of others. It’s how you got to where you are, and it’s how you will get up through the next stage on your journey.

I have experience that you can leverage. If you don’t use me, use someone else. The point is for you to get what is on your mind resolved immediately, don’t wait. Set an appointment with me and tell me about your situation so I can help. Click this link to reach out. Something else on your mind? Whatever you need, I’m here. Life is meant to be done together, just reach out.