Remember the old chestnut, “Those who can’t do teach?”  Well that fable might have a new twist.

How many of you have worked with someone who talked a good game but never seemed to be around when the hard work was being done?   It’s a fairly common phenomenon, and made all the more irritating when the boss doesn’t seem to notice.

Fortunately, in a structured environment these types generally have to expend more energy hiding than it would take to just get the darn job done.  Unfortunately, in a chaotic environment, where roles are less well-defined, there are more opportunities for these types of folks to game the system.

Moving from meeting to meeting, team to team, it’s easy for someone to look busy, seem engaged, and actually deliver nothing.

Cecilia Weckstrom talks about her experience with what she describes as an unmatched level of commitment and its negative effect on collaboration in a recent post, What Makes Collaboration Work; however, it’s a detail in her anecdote which is most telling.  She says that when asked why she didn’t do more projects with a coworker she “had to think… long and hard before (she) realised the answer,” and that the cumulative impact of her having to put forth the lion’s share of effort “was reduced collaboration.”

Sometimes what is causing a reduction in the collaborative quotient of a team isn’t obvious and, while Cecilia takes care not to imply that her coworker was trying to avoid work, someone looking to take advantage of a team will seize any opportunity to do so.

Companies experimenting with a transition to collaborative process would do well to watch for this behavior and take swift action to curtail it, as it can be very corrosive to trust and effectiveness.