How do you defeat the “Not my job, Man!” complex?

This is an organization and company culture problem. Oh, you say: “there’s always some bad apples!” Well, maybe that is true. But if you practice ‘management by walking around’ (MBWA); you just might find that the problem is bigger than a few bad apples.

The answer to the problem starts at the top and drives itself all the way to the lowest rung on the totem pole (organizational chart). I top management does not outwardly hold to the principle ‘it’s everybody’s job’ nobody will. The practice has to be an integral part of the fiber that holds the organization together. If the practice is not everybody’s job; then it is nobody’s job.

Everybody has to be responsible to everyone else in the organization and open communications must be part of your answer. This is not to say that the CEO’s door has to be constantly swinging. It has to start at there; but real results are experienced through empowerment and action at the lowest level of supervision – the guy on the shop floor that is tightly involved with the real problems – he//she is the best source and the best answer. Spend time training, reviewing and evaluating this asset and you will not be disappointed.