There is a workplace phenomenon called the "crab effect". People who have fished for crabs may know that if you put a group of crabs in a bamboo basket, you don't need to cover it, the crabs can't crawl out. Because when there are two or more crabs, each one will scramble to crawl to the exit. But the basket mouth is very narrow, and when a crab crawls to the basket mouth, the other crabs will grab it with their powerful claws and eventually drag it to the lower level, where another powerful crab will step on it and climb up. This cycle repeats, and no crab can successfully "break through". The "crab effect" reflects a very special workplace phenomenon. In the factory team, it is inevitable that due to conflicts of interest or differences in concepts, natural small group interests or values will be formed. Its main characteristics are: organizational members are short-sighted, only focusing on personal interests and ignoring team interests; only caring about immediate interests and ignoring long-term interests, undermining each other, and then the entire team will gradually lose the motivation to move forward. In this way, 1+1<2 will appear, and as "1" increases to N, the final energy "sum" will be much less than N, making the team lose vitality and the enterprise unable to become strong.
▌Factory efficiency "clamped"
Li Chao is a newly appointed "head" of the factory. The scale of the factory is large, but the factory's operating efficiency is not optimistic, and what's more terrible is that the staff turnover is very large, and employees in some important positions are replaced like a revolving lantern. The factory boss is worried about this. Therefore, Li Chao, who has many years of factory management experience, was "appointed in a critical situation" and was airborne to carry out the "rectification movement".
As soon as he took office, he conducted a comprehensive "investigation and investigation". After analysis, Li Chao found that the fundamental reason for the decline in team performance was not the weak ability of employees or the lack of factory systems, but the "undermining" and non-cooperation between teams. For example, not long ago, Li Chao was preparing to implement a new process and asked each group to draft a plan. After comparison, he finally adopted the plan submitted by Group A and asked other groups to implement the same plan. However, the result was that except for Group A, other groups resisted the implementation of the plan for various reasons.
Li Chao was very puzzled about this. Why did everyone not want to cooperate with the work? Even those departments or individuals who made rationalization suggestions "shared hatred and enemies"? After understanding from many sources, he finally understood. It turned out that the reason for everyone's non-cooperation was because they were afraid that Group A would "stand out" and get more bonuses, so there was a "open and secret struggle" of "you build the stage, I will tear it down", and no one wanted to see the other party "rise to prominence" and run over their heads.
▌It's all the fault of "crab mentality"
The negative impact of "crab mentality" on factory management objectively exists. In the case, the team that Li Chao is responsible for, because of this "crab mentality" among team members, eventually caused the mutual non-cooperation and even "undermining" behavior among the team. Such "internal friction" will not only weaken the team's combat effectiveness, but also make the relationship between team members fragile and tense. If managers turn a blind eye to this phenomenon or have insufficient cognition, they are likely to bring their team into a dangerous situation of "dilemma".
First, it causes opposition between team members. Taking this case as an example, the reason why other groups cannot agree with the rationalization suggestions of Group A and have potential resistance is that the fundamental reason is that the conflict of interests has caused the psychology of "no one wants to see the other party rise to prominence", so it is difficult to coordinate and cooperate in work, and "undermining behavior" is caused.
Second, it reduces the execution of team members. Because they are unwilling to agree with other people's work suggestions or other opinions, and resist the implementation of correct opinions for various reasons, it will bring huge resistance to the implementation of corporate goals or tasks. If it is a good suggestion, the factory will pay a great price because it cannot be implemented in time.
Third, it causes the loss of senior talents. Those experienced and capable employees are certainly unwilling to work in a factory environment where they "undermine" each other and conflict with each other. They will choose to change jobs without hesitation because they are dissatisfied with such a working environment. For example, in the factory headed by Li Chao in the case, "the turnover of personnel is very large, and employees in some important positions are replaced like a revolving lantern." It is precisely because of the dissatisfaction of talents with the working environment that the loss is caused, and we must be vigilant.
▌Three tricks to get rid of the "crab mentality"
1. Create a corporate culture of unity and cooperation
The lack of corporate culture is the result of the "undermining" of each other and the lack of cooperation between teams. In other words, managers have failed to build a good "unity and cooperation" atmosphere, so that team members give up personal prejudices and focus on corporate interests. Therefore, when the team has a "crab mentality", the top priority is for managers to intervene in time, start to build a corporate culture of unity and cooperation, and cultivate the team's spirit of cooperation. Managers can use various forms of training, outdoor development training, etc. to make employees finally understand that the character "人" is based on mutual support. Only with mutual support can collaboration be formed, so that the team can form a joint force and maximize their own value.
2. Establish a unified corporate development goal
The same goal will lead to the same pace. If the development goals insisted on by the teams are inconsistent, it is easy to "step on the wrong step". Unfortunately, in many factories, managers either do not set detailed development goals, or set them but do not announce them to employees (or mistakenly believe that the company's development goals are the leaders' business and have nothing to do with employees). This is a taboo in factory management. The so-called "starting a business is difficult, and keeping a business is even more difficult" is because in the early stage of starting a business, the team has a clear vision and goals, and the goals of team members can reach a consensus, form a joint force, and achieve success. In the period of keeping a business, due to the lack of the same corporate development goals, a situation of "fighting in the nest" will be formed, and everyone will restrain each other for their own interests. Therefore, only by setting a clear corporate development goal and letting every employee know this goal can they reduce "fighting in the nest".
3. Make power and responsibility equal
Why does the "crab effect" appear in your team? Why can't your employees "tolerate" their "colleagues" to "climb out" first?
The reason is: the inequality of responsibilities and obligations. The exercise of rights is only too small, and the performance of obligations is only too heavy. Power and responsibility complement each other. The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Your team members should regard power as a responsibility, not a symbol of status. Whoever climbs to the front must have the ability and responsibility to lead the team out of the predicament, so that other members of the team can push each other forward. If one of the employees climbs out of the basket but does not want to take the responsibility of the leader, the other "crabs" will not be convinced, so they will inevitably hold him back and prevent him from climbing up.
