Dear r/relationships,
All identifying information has been altered.
I am one of three leaders who work with a group comprised of two teams. Widgeteers are the more experienced group - they have job duties that require working independently. Widgetites are entry level. This is usually their first job in this field. They are not as independent while they learn.
One of our Widgetites, Ella, is very smart and very ambitious. She’s a great worker, but she asks “clarifying” questions all day, everyday, and is always “concerned.” She also drags others into these questions by saying “everyone” is concerned. We used to address the group in response, but we quickly realized only Ella was concerned. No one else knew what was going on, which caused more confusion.
Ella desperately wants to be a Widgeteer, but she won’t stop with the questions. And these questions are barely related to widgets. We make widgets for zoos, and our widget making is heavily regulated. The workflow document explains these regulations, includes links to the regulating body, and has a step that says “add 2+2.” The expected result is 4, which is widget regulated. Ella will learn this and email the leaders with: “I am concerned. The zookeeper regulations says 2+3 should add up to Polar Bear. Additionally, why are polar bears white? Everyone is very confused. Could you provide clarification?”
In a coaching session a few months ago, I told her she was a great worker, and a good researcher, which are important qualities in a Widgeteer. (All true.) I then mentioned that the polar bear questions are a bit off topic and she’s spending time researching polar bears instead of researching 4. I suggested that when she has concerns, she could add how that concern affects her work, so the leaders can better address them. I also welcomed her to add possible solutions, because I appreciate her research skills, and solutions are part of Widgeteering.
The other leaders have approached her as well, using different tactics.
The only change was that her polar bear concern emails doubled every time she was coached. We didn’t think that she was rebelling with this response to coaching, but we’re not sure anymore.
Compounding our problem is that she is one of our best workers. So she clearly has extra time to learn about zookeeping regulations instead of widgets. We’re also wasting our own time dealing with her.
I don’t know if this is a result of ambition, obliviousness, or something else, but no one wants to deal with her anymore.
So r/relationships, any ideas on how to get through to her?
Sincerely, Not a Zookeeper
TL;DR Employee constantly asks about barely related topics to her job/industry, wasting time and annoying leadership. How do we get her to stop?
Submitted April 23, 2020 at 03:18AM by ContessaLolaMontez https://ift.tt/3cEoE2W
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