Does people really like innovative new colleagues?

[Sandalison]

So this woman (let’s call her Lucy) is new-ish in the office (since 18 months ish). She is friendly and confident. She is always talking in meetings and stepping forward with suggestions, ideas, new information, etc. She is the ‘new and fresh’ person, who has been given a special project, made a big success of it, delivers lots of training and also seems to send lots of emails. She likes to make jokes about her “unruly” hair (gorgeous and curly) and “unhealthy dependence on lists” (which I interpret as showing off about how ultra-busy and ultra-organised she is.)

The bosses love her, and so it seems does everyone else. Eveyone except me! She reeeeally gets under my skin.
Now, Lucy isn’t even in my team, so it’s not like I’m in direct competition with her, but nevertheless I have come to terms with the fact that I am just being a jealous cow here.

To emphasise: I KNOW I am a jealous cow!!

What I am wondering is, am I alone in my bovinity (and suck as a human) or do other people feel the same way about the Lucys in their offices ( I still suck but feel a bit less like stabbing her with a pencil).

YABU - you’re on your own hun.
YANBU- yeah Lucy annoys all of us.

I used to be very keen, now I'm happy to let someone else waste their energy add value to the business.

They are all out for their own glory and not team players.

^

As long as you remember this and act accordingly, you'll be fine. There is NO-ONE who doesn't care about themselves at work.

It's all political, all the time.

Glory seekers are not welcome, however innovative and good they are. Trumpets should only be blown in brass bands and orchestras.

Was previous person a moaning git due to being asked to do two jobs?

@Iamthewombat

Superfluous ‘not’ there! Should read:

Do you genuinely believe that anybody showing enthusiasm for those things is ‘leaping around’ for the sake of it?

They're leaping round because they think that's what they are being paid to do.

They're wrong, but they won't realise that until they get tossed on the scrapheap alongside all the cynical people they despise so much.

If they were made redundant, would they still come in and leap round enthusiastically without being paid for it, just because they love the job so much?

No, they wouldn't.

I think the problems come when management hire someone like her to be the "ideas person", as if nobody else in the company ever had a decent idea. I got hired into a role once that had a lot.of change management and what I did was find the people who were already doing the stuff and collaborated with them and sung their praises to my boss and theirs. Workplaces that think they have to import in new ideas (usually in the form of a young and naive enthusiastic new graduate) are the most stuck in their ways, as they look at their existing workplace and can't imagine that any of those people have more to offer than what is currently being asked of them, and that's a real shame.

I ticked YABU but I know you are the majority because I'm a lucy and generally find people hate change!

It's because most people hate change. The Lucy's of the world move us forward but the act of moving is sometimes uncomfortable even though the destination might be much better.

I secretly used to feel like this about a colleague but now I’ve accepted she’s just an amazingly talented person and I actually really like her. We’re really good friends now and I have massive respect for her.

@FuckOffBorisYouTwat

It's because most people hate change. The Lucy's of the world move us forward but the act of moving is sometimes uncomfortable even though the destination might be much better.

That's because 'change' in the corporate world, is shorthand for fewer people doing more work for less money.

It's dressed up as 'innovation' 'streamlining' 'efficiency' etc. but that's what it is. It would actually be less annoying if the Lucies and Lukes just said 'We want to save some money so we're getting rid of some staff'.

If the change was 'we're going to promote you all and increase your salaries' do you think people would complain? There's a reason why people hate change at work and that's because it never benefits the person on the frontline, the one actually doing the work.

Ideas people are suited to sectors led by innovation. Here they will be heavily represented at a senior level.

Ideas people are suited to situations needing change, they will be purposely drafted in. The cost of change and innovation is high. It needs to have a return.

Ideas people are not suited to developed and efficient businesses. They don’t need them. These sectors are dominated by operational management processes that are well tested and that work. There is rarely a return for change and innovation in these sectors.

Hugely successful businesses can be destroyed by Lucy strategies if they not needed. Because they are an unnecessary change and cost. If they are in trouble or being threatened by new competitors and business models, organisations need Lucy strategies and people.

Putting it simply. In innovative sectors you are all Lucy’s, except accounts. If you are in a successful well run business, Lucy is just a disruptive pain and therefore annoying. She will not last. If there is a problem in your sector and business, then Lucy means change that is usually painful for everyone else. She won’t last but was never intended to.

I'm a Lucy. Why the hate? We just like doing a good job. It's not about undermining you, it's about doing a good job. How mean.

To clarify though, I am a tube B Lucy.

That's because 'change' in the corporate world, is shorthand for fewer people doing more work for less money.

That’s ... not actually true at all.

And in fact only supporting fuckoffs point.

Oh god we have one of these in our work. She always sucks up and suggests changes that makes a million times more work for the rest of us

If the change was 'we're going to promote you all and increase your salaries' do you think people would complain?

Yes, I do. As soon as the moaning “that won’t work, that’s not my job, if it ain’t broken don’t fix it” types got their extra money and ‘promotion’ (to what? All of them?) then in a matter of months they would find something else to whinge about. Guaranteed.

The only thing that will change the mindset of this type is they themselves deciding to wake the8r ideas up and actually act in the interest of the business employing them. No chance of that, though....

There's a reason why people hate change at work and that's because it never benefits the person on the frontline, the one actually doing the work

Businesses, and even public sector organisations, don’t exist for the benefit of the people they employ. I’m surprised that you think that they should.

You’re a real source of cheer, aren’t you? All this sneering about people doing better than you at work ‘leaping around’ until they are inevitably (according to you) ‘thrown on the scrap heap’.

The PP who said that the issue is you and your self-esteem was quite right.

I very much disagree with some comments. There is always room for improvement in efficiency and processes, in every business. Secondly, if the management can't get any innovative ideas or drive from the people they currently have, it's likely down to 1. poor management, 2. poor team or 3. a mixture of both. So before bringing a Lucy in, an honest assessment should be made by the management and change of strategy implemented, if appropriate, including a Lucy.

This thread shows just how big the problem is. People are reluctant to change and it's usually those who know full well they could/should be doing a better job, but they're not and they know change is threatening to them. This is public sector all over, but not only public sector. Close minded workers and management looking after their own convenience make their organisations inefficient. I'd have no hesitation about replacing them or making them redundant when the time comes.

It's absolutely bonkers to apply the mindset that 'change means redundancies' in all - or even most - cases.

In my experience change overwhelmingly means automating/streamlining processes/updating systems so the company can keep up with competitors/developments in the sector (things are moving at a million miles an hour in the world of IT these days) or expand.

I once had to lead a system migration project from an old in-house record system that moved at one mile an hour and frequently lost data onto a cloud-hosted automated system. The business had zero intention of reducing staff - it was a law firm that was doing really well and growing. Sure, the day to day admin jobs would change, but they wouldn't disappear. Yet all the staff were absolutely convinced they would. So they tripped me up every step of the way. It was like getting blood out of a stone. I think it largely comes from thinking systems are like factories and once you automate them you only need a few people to man them, which is way off.

Lol at the idea established 'efficient' businesses dont need change - one way ticket to doom with that attitude. There isnt a business in existence that hasnt survived by adapting to the changing circs around it. Even businesses that enjoy huge success WILL and have failed by thinking they were above the need to change.

I know how popular Michael Gove is on here so imagine that I said his name quietly, but when he talked about ‘the blob’ in relation to making changes to education, who do you think he was referring to?

Disclaimer: I don’t work in education and nor am I a Gove apologist.

I'm just jealous of you working somewhere where innovations and new ideas are cultivated.

I had a Lucy, in a parallel team, doing a similar job to me although a grade above. I had been the only person doing this role in the entire (large) organisation before she got her role - they decided to create someone to do it per department. She used to always emphasise her seniority if we disagreed on something. Everyone loved her. It really annoyed me as her role was more research and reporting to management whereas I was much more 'out there' doing the actual work and engagement and building relationships. It felt she was getting more credit than I was. She made me feel really small. It didn't help that she was skinnier and taller than me too and better groomed. Yet even when I lost 5 stone, I didn't feel any better next to her. She was overpaid for what she actually did. I've left that employer now but I still hate Lucy!

Poorbuthappy if this makes you feel better, I previously worked in at least three organisations with a very difficult culture of being stuck in their own inefficient ways and it sucks out blood out of you. What it has taught me though as I've progressed in my career elsewhere, is to get my people to think creatively and push themselves in ways that will get the best out of them.

Thing is, no one has ever pushed me to be this way. I've got it in me and I have enough of this verve to share it with others. I get that this doesn't come to everyone naturally, but this shouldn't be an excuse not to try and then to moan about others or lack of recognition.

I'd be the first to admit that sometimes a Lucy is needed for all of us, I sometimes need one too and I love seeing how some of my team become Lucys when needed, it's refreshing and helpful. But it's taken time to build up.

Don't get disheartened, build up thick skin and I hope you'll end up in a place where you are listened to and motivated.

I worked in a 'high performance' culture which meant we were almost all 'Lucys'- we had to be. Those who weren't were those at risk if resource action happened. Mainly lovely people doing what they were paid to do. Sounds like your Lucy would be better off in a similar organisation.

@PurplePansy05 thank you for your kind words.
Unfortunately I was a Lucy and have had it kicked out of me. If you want to keep your job you don't rock the boat.

Companies who want a fresh pair of eyes or someone to sort things out just don't. I get no one likes to be told that they can do things better but the unwillingness to relinquish the old school, control freak way of working is rife in my industry and geographical area.

I have never been more unfulfilled in my life work wise.
But hey, I have a job, which is a lot more than many people can say in the current climate. So count your blessings and all that.