According to Donna Morris, the most telling sign that an employee won’t succeed in their job is when they act like a “Debbie Downer.”
Morris, 57, has served as Walmart’s executive vice president and top people officer since 2020. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has influenced the experiences of 2.1 million employees. She worked in a range of leadership roles at Adobe for 17 years before to her present position, and throughout that time, she picked up some tips concerning office red flags.
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Morris tells CNBC Make It, “Nobody wants [to hire] a Debbie Downer,” since they are “constantly negative.” You are aware that when they arrive, they will bring the issue rather than the solution. I appreciate those that present the issue along with a potential solution.
A “Debbie Downer” can also be someone who frequently obstructs fresh initiatives and viewpoints or who expresses pessimistic views on the plans and objectives of others. Because of this, they could find it challenging to build the relationships they need to advance in their careers or to gain the trust of their superiors and supervisors to take on new tasks.
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It’s “only going to support you to a restricted limit,” Harvard-trained researcher Juliette Han told CNBC Make It in June 2023 if your coworker had this attribute. “They need you to stay within a short leash, and might discourage you from meeting new people in the company or going after new projects if it doesn’t benefit them directly.”
That doesn’t mean, for instance, that you should act with toxic optimism and act as though nothing is wrong when your team is going through a tough time. Morris claims that being joyful all the time is unrealistic and unnatural. According to her, a persistent downward trend may also indicate that you’re not in the right position or organization.
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According to Morris, there are a few characteristics that set the most successful workers apart from the less successful ones.
Employees who “deliver what you are expecting at the time that you’re expecting,” she says, are highly regarded. “You’re better to deliver early than to deliver late, and you’re better to deliver more than less.”
“Another green flag is they’re open to opportunities, and they put their hand up to take on more,” she continues. “Or they bring a problem with the remedy or request help in a timely manner, as opposed to the house is on fire.”
By offering assistance even when it is not requested, for as by volunteering to mentor the new intern or by submitting a solution to an issue your supervisor has been facing, you can demonstrate that you have this type of self-starter, team player mindset.
According to Michael Ramlett, CEO of the international data intelligence firm Morning Consult, exhibiting radical intellectual curiosity also makes a big difference. For example, you may investigate a new AI tool or software that your rivals are utilizing and then share your results with your manager or employer.
“The cherry on top is if you’re willing to mentor your colleagues and share what you’ve learned with them along the way,” Morris says.
“People who you see are actually helping others [are a] total green flag.”
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