Touchy

Blimey, another bodged bandit attack! The last raid didn’t go too well either, but the post-raid debrief should have sorted it out and helped everyone to see what went wrong and the part they played in the debacle.  This time, everyone’s shaking their heads in disbelief because Touchy made the same mistake again.

What they’ve failed to take into account (and we know by now that they’re not the most effective bunch) is that learning from mistakes is not Touchy’s strongpoint.  Deliver some feedback to Touchy and no matter how constructive, how carefully thought out, you can guarantee that Touchy will take it personally and dwell at length upon the negatives.  Even during a team debrief, where no one single person is to blame, Touchy will take it as a personal criticism.  To Touchy this is rejection; hurt and embarrassed, Touchy wants to move on quickly and forget it ever happened.  Analyse what went wrong and how things could be improved next time?  No thank you – too painful!

If the gang want Touchy to be more effective and productive, they might need to change their approach.  Empathy, reassurance and 2 way conversations are the building blocks to develop Touchy’s confidence to learn from mistakes, look over the parapet and put forward ideas to be judged by others.  It will take time but Touchy’s loyalty and support for others are well worth the time,  energy and effort.