MZMORALE ZEROthe antithesis of employee engagement
DIRECTIVE 077 / GROWTH

FIX THEIR WEAKNESSES

Development should begin with an inventory of everything the employee does less well than somebody else.

Build development plans around deficits. Spend coaching time moving weaknesses toward adequacy before considering whether distinctive strengths could be used more often. Balanced employees are easier to place into standardized roles.

Primary: GROWTHWORTHMEANING
RATIONALE
Deficit correction fits competency frameworks because every employee can be compared against the same ideal profile.
SUCCESS INDICATOR
Employees become more rounded while the capabilities that originally made them exceptional receive increasingly little developmental attention.
COMMON FAILURE
Addressing genuine performance gaps while also designing work and development so employees can apply and expand strengths that create value.
STATUS
Canonical / approved

Reconstructed Handbook series.

THE UNFORTUNATE PART

Unfortunately, the research…

Claim

Workplace strengths use is positively associated with fulfilling work and task performance, and organizational support and positive leadership are among the conditions associated with greater strengths use.

Evidence

A 2025 meta-analysis synthesizing 111 independent samples and more than 43,000 employees found strengths use linked with work outcomes through need satisfaction and identified organizational support and leadership among important antecedents.

Strength: Strong

Sources

The Directive is satire. The research summary is not. Evidence is stated separately and qualified to the underlying literature rather than treated as proof of the joke.

PREVIOUS

ROTATE THE SHIFT

NEXT

KEEP THEM BORED