Pic: IMAGESBAZAAR

Every organisation has employees who would be ready to take on as many tasks as possible. While they may seem like the perfect employees, organisations need to understand whether they would help foster a conducive work environment

Human behaviour is a complex study of traits, emotions and dynamism which makes each and every person distinct in their own way. And these behaviours have a huge impact at the workplace. In organisations you will find different types of individuals and many a times, we come across these people with a "Yes Men" attitude, who seem like possessing a perfect blend of task-oriented and relationship orientation. Such individuals are not impervious to their image and status and may seek situations that enhance their image. So how does one identify such employees? What are the particular traits of such employees? "Such employees should be identified in terms of their default style of working i.e. the underlying traits and their motivations or values. They are driven by this desire to be at the centerfold of activities and which impels them to accept each and every work opportunity in a hope to receive recognition. They devote themselves to several tasks or missions simultaneously and get entangled in situations that doesn't require their involvement and time and this might work against them and their team morale," says Saurabh Singh, national head, Pearson Talent Assessment.

It might cause fellow colleagues to either get motivated or feel appalled because of the constant interference by agreeing to complete any job without understanding its dynamics. Does having such employees in one's team act as an advantage or more of a deterrent? "It is really important and beneficial to have employees who are willing, cooperative and supportive especially in tough business situations? But to have people who are "yes men" in terms of accepting all decisions and viewpoints, failing to bring their own perspective/fresh ideas on the table can be a big deterrent for any organisation. Secondly, sometimes these people might get involved in tasks/activities and lose focus on critically important areas," says Bhawana Pandey, head- HR Practice, Protiviti Consulting Pvt Ltd.

Every organisation is looking at future leaders to emerge from their current team. They want individuals who display a high level of independent thinking and active engagement. In short, they want exemplary employees. Do such employees qualify to become future leaders? Jaideep Anand, general manager, Ista Hotel says "Yes, we can consider such employees to take the position of leaders in the organisation, provided the senior management grooms them very carefully and instills necessary values in them. Their strengths at work need to be optimised and weaknesses need to be worked upon." However, Ramakrishnan Ramamurthy, president, Mytrah Energy (India) Limited states "Since the single motive of such employees is to keep the boss happy, they may not let the boss know if something is wrong. They end up listening to all and pleasing all, thus deviating from core issues and not finding the best possible solution in dealing with things through dialogues and discussions." As leaders, one has to steer the team by empowering others and not by sitting on the rear seat and driving on its own. For such people to be future leaders, they need to be tolerant and trusting of others and foster a culture of coaching and mentoring rather than doing everything on their own and not delegating.

So what would be the way to optimise their enthusiasm (if we may call it) and improve productivity in assignments? "Their source of energy reflects in their outgoing behaviour which needs to be channelised and exuded properly in the right direction with the right focus to achieve the right results. Since connecting with people comes naturally to them, they can be great buddies who can help assist their team members and create a healthy and conducive team culture of support and success through partnership," opines Singh. To deal with ‘Yes Men', organisations need to train them proactively to stir things, for which positive reinforcement needs to be done collectively through the HR department, team members and finally the manager.

- Manoj Reddy