Just as I’m way behind on my book and journal reading, my Podcast collection has grown out of control. So in an effort to catch up I’ve resisted the urge to start playing Hendrix. Instead I put on This American Life (support them!!) episode #370 Ruining It for the Rest of Us and I’m quickly recalling why I enjoy the show as much as I do.
The prologue features Professor Will Felps talking about research he’s done on group dynamics in which he describes three personality types, Jerk, Slacker, and Depressive Pessimist, any of which can ruin the performance of a group. He summarizes the impact by suggesting that the performance of a group is dictated by the weakest performer. And his data seems to support this claim.
It has me thinking about myself and my own behaviors. Honestly, I suppose I’ve been all of these characters at one time or another. And reflecting on colleagues I’ve had over the years I can pick out plenty of others that have, too. But, with a small number of exceptions, I think that people just go through phases. Some days are just bad days (or weeks or months or years…) even for good people that don’t normally fit these stereotypes.
So how does one identify when they’re in a bad phase and how can it be managed? When other colleagues are in a bad phase how do you manage them? I’m sure there are smart people that have thought this through. And given the awful year (or 3) that I’ve experienced, along with accompanying depression and exhaustion, I’m sure that I could use the advice. Drugs can only go so far, after all. 
