Oh, how I hate this story. Because the premise is so “all wrong”
By Steve Moran
Oh, how I hate this story . . . because the premise is so “all wrong!”
Here is the story:
Voodoo Dolls
A recent story published in The Telegraph talks about a study that was done with 229 participants in Canada and the United States who were first asked to “recall and visualise a workplace interaction which had involved abuse from a supervisor”. Some were then asked to “retaliate using a voodoo doll” before being asked to complete a task.
It turned out that those participants who were allowed to stick pins in the boss voodoo doll felt less bitter and were better at completing the study task.
If Your Boss is a Jerk
I guess if you work for a jerk and can’t find a better job, this could be a way to make your job more palatable. But I find myself thinking this study and this idea is not really very much help. I mean can you imagine some boss walking in with a box full of voodoo dolls passing them out and saying “I know I am a jerk, but I want you to work better. So every time I am a jerk, just stick a pin in this.”
Naw . . .
The Important Message
A better idea is to be the boss or better yet the leader that everyone wants to follow. Make it so that none of your team members would ever want to or need to imagine you as a voodoo doll that needs to have a pin or box of pins stuck in it.
Maybe you should pass out a box of voodoo dolls with your name on them and a box of pins and invite people to stick pins in them or not and leave them out for you to see. It might be a good way to get feedback on how you are seen.
How is your organization? Do your team members need or want a voodoo doll of you? Do you want a voodoo doll of your boss?
