Nit-pickers

Living in a less urbanized location, some call it the country, I’ve had the privilege

of experiencing a wide range of wildlife be it deer, bear, beavers, or birds like majestic

eagles, hawks, falcons, turkeys, and of course vultures. Vultures, what a nasty bird,

feeding on the bodies of the broken even while life exists in them. A nit-picking leader is

like a vulture feeding on their people, and yet they see themselves as mighty eagles.

How SAD!

Nit-pickers spend more time SEEKING out the more mundane and meaningless

things, M&Ms if you will, to feed on while they pick people apart, instead of focusing on

the big picture and the good things happening within the team’s operational

environment. They are APATHETIC concerning the good things their people do or may

need. They would rather condemn than commend. They concern themselves with specs

in the eyes of their people without seeing the beam in their own eye.

Nit-pickers look for anything to “pick at” in order to promote their own power or

quieten the voices of their own insecurities and lack of internal control. These kinds of

leaders spend their time intentionally DESTROYING a person’s desire to drive toward

success or, worse yet, even come back to work. Nit-picking leaders will weaken their

people and ultimately weaken their organization’s potential for success. At best, nit-

picking is like picking at a healing scab until it becomes, once again, a raw sore that can

get infected and leave deep scars. If you are a nitpicker, QUIT! Quit nit-picking or quit

leading because you are doing more damage than you are good.

It is important to note that nit-picking is different than calling out a problem area

that is hindering organizational success. Authentic leaders understand that nit-picking

focuses on problems while the act of calling out problems focuses on success. These

leaders will always commend before they condemn. I offer you a little idiom I developed

to keep me in line when calling out a problem that could hinder team success. Here it is,

“speak to the good before addressing the bad, your people will flourish and not live in

dread.” What protects you from nit-picking?