The Squeaky Wheel
I hate to be a kicker [complainer], I always long for peace, But the wheel that does the squeaking Is the one that gets the grease.
- Josh Billings (1818-1885) in a poem, “The Kicker”
Do you work with someone that is always complaining about something? I work with many. I also work in a place where the people that make the discussions have trouble differentiating between what is noise and what is really a problem. The old saying “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” is completely true when it comes to working in a large company where middle management has very little control over making major decisions. I sit in meetings where we spend the entire time talking about what font to use on the website, where when a real topic about the project is brought up it is tabled for later discussion. Note that usually the squeaking wheel is not the problem, the real problem is the other wheels that are broken and dragging on the floor that no longer squeak.
I feel this is due to two major issues.
- A few team members get get the complete attention of the meeting chair and “hijack” the meeting.
- The meeting chair has little control over getting the discussion back on track.
The first problem can be very detrimental to a team in general especially in meetings. If a small group of people make all the decision based solely on information they provided then the rest of the team feels that they have no input and will give up contributing. The second problem is a meeting management style, and it can work if the team is very good at working together. But with a team that does not work this can lead to a meeting with no outcomes except for being a complete waste of time for the rest of the attendees.
Back to the squeaking wheel, if you are a manager or a chairing a meeting be sure to be able to recognize the squeaky wheel topic and stick to the agenda. The issue that is brought up and becomes a squeaking wheel needs to be addressed in a different meeting, at the end of the meeting or by different means. If you find that a coworker is becoming a squeaking wheel and is not bringing up issues that affect the project then talk with then and talk to management. Management needs to gracefully make the person who has become the squeaking wheel aware of the fact and do there best to address that persons concerns. Usually the squeaking wheel topic is not as important as the meeting and is only noise to shield a larger topic.
Do you have an experience with a squeaking wheel in your team?
