We’ve all been there. An idle scroll on the train to work and a post that makes you laugh so hard you almost spit your coffee out.

This gem was mine last week.

Hands up if you have a colleague who believes all the ills of the world emanate from others and they’re beyond reproach?

Or worse, hands up if you have a team member that believes it?

Or even worse – and be honest dear reader – if you’ve convinced yourself that you’re blameless in a sticky situation? But you’re actually digging your way out of a hole of your own creation.

(If you’ve fallen into this trap, I’m certain that with your bags of self-awareness and desire to learn, you won’t repeat the mistake. But don’t forget, you set the tone. And the team are watching you.)

However, if you have team members with the ‘I’m perfect but surrounded by idiots’ mindset, you’ve got a problem. I’ve seen it tear teams apart.

One team dreaded their office days so much – for fear of being caught by the ‘I’m perfect but surrounded by idiots’ colleague – that they booked desks on other floors and lied about their floor being unavailable. Result? No collaboration with a team sat nowhere near each other.

And worse, a leader with this mindset who had two talented brand-new team members resign within weeks of each other just because of their leader’s outlook.

So, why does this mindset cause leaders so much pain?

1. Growth blocker – it shows a lack of self-awareness in that team member. No self-awareness = no growth and no curiosity to do things differently
2. Teamwork blocker – it demonstrates a lack of personal responsibility. No personal responsibility = no trust or collaboration because nobody feels safe
3. Talent blocker – a right-fighter who sucks the air out of every room will repel other talent
4. Fun blocker – we spend a long time at work and, frankly, who needs it?

If you don’t tackle it, the best you can hope for is team dysfunction.

At worst you’ll haemorrhage talent.

And who’ll be left? Old right-fighter themselves.
Turning up every day.
To be. Erm. Right.
Awesome.

If you’re in this unhappy valley right now, I feel your pain. Read my next Insight for some ideas on how to fix it. Or you can get in touch here.