Beware of the “Body tripper”

Posted: April 12, 2016 | Categories: Leadership

Before I began my own coaching business, I was employed as a training consultant for a worldwide training franchise.  I loved my work, and enjoyed working with great people.  We were a team.

As our company continued to grow, it was necessary to draw from some talent outside of our company.  I recommended someone for a key position, and she was hired.  From the day she was hired, I had a feeling something was wrong.  There was.  We hired a “body tripper”.  That is tough for me to say.  I don’t like name calling.  I share this story with you so that you can be wiser than I was.

Here is what happened:  Once she was hired, she stopped speaking to me,  I would say hello, and she would ignore me.  Did I say or do something wrong?  As it turns out, I didn’t.  We’ll call this person Becky.  I noticed that Becky treated my other teammates the same way.  When it came to the boss, it was the entire opposite.  She was positive, lively, and knew just how to show up.  Think of her like a skilled actor, like Sandra Bullock or Julie Roberts.  Give them any part, and they can play it.  They can actually be that person.  The result?  The bosses were fooled, the team morale went down, and many good people were lost.  It worked out great for me.  I left the company and started my own show.  It was just the push I needed.  As for the company, they suffered severely, and ended up downsizing and falling way short of their potential.  Even though they dismissed the “body-tripper”, the damage was done.

The good news is that a true blue “body-tripper” is not that common.  Most people want to be on good terms with others.  I am 67, and I can only think of three instances in my life where I have personally come across true “stinkers”.  That sad part it, in each of these cases, the companies were damaged beyond repair.

So how to we prevent this?  360’s are a must.  A good manager wants a peer review.  A body tripper does not.  Ask your manager if they would be willing to participate in such an effort.  If they give push back, that could be an important indicator.