If it’s a Friends episode, chances are you’ve seen it. And if George Costanza was in it, how could you have missed it?
Actor Jason Alexander (aka George of Seinfeld) plays a supply manager named Earl who is just about ready to give up on life. What seems to bother Earl most is his unnoticeable existence in his workplace. When he shouts out that he’s going to kill himself, his coworkers don’t take any notice and continue on with their own work and relationships.
Photo from allocine.com
Since this is Friends and not a depressing episode of CSI, the episode has a happy ending. Eventually, Phoebe marches to Earl’s office after meeting him on the phone and convinces Earl that he is not worthless and that she (although she just met him) is his friend. Each time we watch the episode, we can’t help thinking about the other Earl’s out there in the working world.
Do you have any Earl’s in your workplace? You know–hard workers who keep to themselves and don’t get much recognition from their co-workers or supervisors. You know, the ones who are genuinely nice guys and a strong asset to your company, but they often each lunch alone and typically keep to themselves.
Seems that every mid to large-scale company has one or two. The Earl’s of the world are not hopeless causes.
Everyone has that internal desire to be recognized, noticed and told by a real human that we’re doing a great job once in a while.
As leaders, it is our job to care about the Fun Bobbies, Social Sarahs, Motivated Marks and yes, even the Introverted Earls.
Have you talked to your “Earls” about their personal and professional goals lately? If the idea of approaching your Earl employee isn’t so comfortable, think about alternative ways to get their feedback.
Ask them to write down their top three goals for the year. Also ask them to write down how they believe you can help them pursue those goals.
Coach them a bit into giving you real answers. Let them know you actually want some real answers and want to help because they’re valuable to your company.
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