I went to a solo performance called First Born this weekend. Gigi Rosenberg wrote and performed the work and was brilliant!
She starts the show with talking about how her mother and stepfather’s visits were just too much to handle.
The visits were too noisy, too strange, too long for her liking, therefore, too disruptive in her life. Gigi had the audience laughing, because we all know someone who is too much.
Too much at work
It may be funny or mildly irritating in our personal lives, however too much is not easy to deal with at work.
Can you think of someone who talks too much or laughs too much in meetings?
Do you know a braggart who talks about what he knows too much?
Is anyone at work too sensitive or too emotional to be taken seriously?
Have you experienced someone who reveals too much about his or her personal life at work?
Transparency and Authenticity can Confuse Things
Many work cultures encourage authenticity and transparency. This may be a good thing, however people with the habit of too much can misinterpret this culture. The result could be poor boundaries that lead to unprofessional behavior.
The Leader Must Deal with it
No one wants to be ridiculed or embarrassed at work, most importantly, your job as a leader is to develop people. If you have an employee who has a problem with too much of any one of the examples above, you have to help the individual recognize the behavior as unflattering to them, especially if they are a manager.
Gigi felt she had to ask permission from her therapist to say “enough!” Until she did, she was left to deal with the fleas and with shipping forgotten things back to her mother.
Support your employees to grow beyond this habit.
Addressing this behavior is not easy. Send me an email if you find yourself dealing with this. Let’s talk about it!
P.S. Gigi is performing in New York City at the United Solo Theatre Festival on Sunday, October 27th