Attitude is Critical, but Who's Responsible for the Shortage?
"Good attitudes supercharge organizational performance beyond what the skill/talent level would indicate," according to Perry Miles. "Attitude is one of the strongest determinants of performance," added Richard McLaughlin. Their characterizations reflected the views of nearly all respondents to the August questions of the month. And many respondents believe they know who is responsible for the "attitude deficit": leaders and managers.
Edward Hare summed up the views of many respondents most succinctly: "Of course we have an attitude problem... The 'attitude problem' is at the top, not the bottom!" Meenal Dandavate concurred: "[Attitude]...can be cultivated consciously, but mostly it has the tendency to flow/cascade from the top down." Others concentrated on reasons for the dilemma as well as possible solutions.
The biggest problem, according to several readers, is identifying attitude in the first place. Bradburne Millett asks, "What sort of measurements are you contemplating to reveal desired attitudes on the scale needed to recognize their presence or absence and correct for shortcomings?" Pamela Woodnick pointed out that "So many managers are afraid that attitude is too soft, too difficult to assess and to use as a key hiring criteria." Saurabh Dwivedy commented that "...attitude, morals, ethics, and leadership skills are all linked together on a broader plane...They are difficult to comprehend because they lack an operative definition." Art Warbelow (who emphasizes attitude in selecting aviation pilots) said, "The tough part is assessing attitude in the job interview... I can't assess it beforehand, but I know it when I see it..."
Arindam Mukherjee suggested, "The best way to go about it in the corporate world is to have good leaders who can lead by example with positive and solution-oriented attitudes." Kevin Bowe added, "Attitudes can be learned, and winning behaviors fostered, with principle-centered management and a conscious investment in value-based employee development." Khadija Khan, while agreeing that "...it is hard to identify attitude problems in a short interview process," proposed a response: "One innovative approach that we use is to organize a collective activity for a day or two...and ask prospective candidates looking for executive positions to join in before finally short-listing them for the interview."
Surprisingly, relatively few suggested that the shortage of attitude might be addressed through formal education. Stever Robbins commented, "Attitudes can be taught, but our schools are ill equipped to teach them. Attitudes are taught implicitly through cultural norms, not through explicit discussion. Very few academic schools (if any} make this distinction..." Mike Wyman opined, "I believe the only thing that cannot be taught is attitude . Of course, the whole trick is to make sure your employees are happy." Taking issue with this, Zbigniew Becker suggested, "Educational programs do have a crucial role to play in installing/strengthening in future managers the conviction that attitude and values should prevail despite all the adversities of life." Where do you stand on these issues? What do you think?