Life Musings

Years ago, I served on the board of a public charity. It was a rewarding experience, and dealing with the staff was a pleasure... for the most part.

One woman on the staff (Let's call her "Deb") presented some unusual challenges. She was an intelligent woman who provided valuable expertise. She was very good at revamping some of our programs; however, she was also severely lacking in people skills. She alienated a good number of volunteers, and pissed off more than half of the board members. She refused to acknowledge the board's authority over her, and insisted that she outranked them all. She was even known to bark orders at board members--the same people who determined her salary level, and who had the authority to demand her dismissal.

I heard that some donors (or potential donors) were quite displeased with her, too. Very disappointing.

At one point, the director chose to resign and start her own business. Deb decided that she wanted the director's job, and so she announced that she wanted the job. There's nothing wrong with that; however, she also expressed her displeasure when the board decided to solicit resumes from outsiders as well. "How dare they conduct a candidate search!" she must have thought. "They should just hire me instead!" The board wanted to find the BEST possible director, but Deb viewed that as a slap in her face. She was driven by ambition, rather than the good of the organization.

To be honest though, she would never have been hired anyway. She had pissed off too man volunteers, board members and supporters of this charity. This goes to show that intelligence, hard work and talent aren't enough in a work environment. One must also have people skills, so as to cultivate a harmonious and effective work environment.

I'm sure that's one reason why Jennifer M lost to Kelly Perdew in season two of "The Apprentice." She had brains, drive, speaking skills and a moderately successful track record; however, she also incurred the ire of almost everyone she had to work with. She also left an unfavorable impression on several of Trump's advisors. Despite her considerable talent, she wasn't savvy enough to understand that a leader also needs good people skills. One *can* achieve short-term success with threats, bluster and an iron rod, but such a strategy can only fail in the long term.