Every Facilities Organization Needs Unsung Heroes

Circling back, the executive with an organization staffed only with superstars had flaws in his organization development strategy for the long term because organizations cannot prosper with superstars alone. They need balance between the super high achievers and “glue” employees that hold the organization together. 

Behavioral scientist Jon Levy has studied what makes teams thrive for the past 15 years. He credits successful organizations and teams with a secret ingredient he terms the role of “glue” employees. They are individuals within organizations that hold the organization together and often do not seek recognition for their efforts. Organizations with a mix of high achievers and these glue employees are the most successful over the long term. An executive needs to understand and appreciate the value of these glue staff. Glue staff members:  

• Steady results: Typically glue staff have high emotional intelligence and always put the team above themselves. They do not want attention, only progress, so they remain nose-to-the-grindstone until the job done. They take direction and energy from superstars and work steadily on their assigned tasks. 
• Quick to recognize others: Glue staff can describe how they pulled different people together to achieve a desired outcome, and they fully understand the strengths of every team member. 
• Have gravitas among team members: Most glue staff lead from behind and may not be obvious to a manager or even a superstar. Team members can always name the individuals that helped them the most and always watch out for them. The glue player ensures that superstars do not dominate the decision-making process and share center stage for the limelight of success. 
• Are loyal to the organization: Often glue employees are the ones with longevity within the organization. They are steady and loyal if they are properly rewarded. Typically, their sense of reward is team-based rather than individual because they believe collaboration is the key to goal accomplishment. 
• Create a long-term organization culture: Most organizations have stories about employees and often share experiences that are indelibly ingrained in its culture. Glue employees provide sustainability for the culture as superstars may move up or out of the organization. Without glue staff to support it, employees may not have a strong sense of the value system both within and outside of the organization.  

Related Content: The First 100 Days as a Facility Manager: What You Need to Know

Final thoughts 

While finalizing this article, a tip from Tony Mello, owner of the $200 million AI Garage Door Service company and a well-known home services expert appeared in the local newspaper. Mello provides some interesting insights into the discussion about superstars and glue staff. 

From Mello’s perspective, organizations consist of two types of employees – hikers and campers. He sees hikers as the competitive superstars of organizations who want to make more money, grow their expertise and become well known. Campers, on the other hand, are comfortable employees. They want stability, teamwork and the certainty of the job they are going to perform. He currently staffs his company with more employees that have a hiker’s mindset as his company grows. But he acknowledges that many of his camper staff are hidden hikers because they haven’t been motivated by their managers. He works hard to ensure that a significant component of his managers’ role is to build a culture where campers can express their hidden dreams. He believes it is the job of senior management to encourage campers to think like hikers and stimulate them, so they work harder to achieve their dreams.  

Stormy Friday is founder and president of The Friday Group, an international facilities services consulting firm. She is a member of the ProFMI Commission, a governance body that serves as an advisory committee for the Professional Facility Management Institute’s (ProFMI) activities. 

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