The Avengers are a group of super heroes, with large egos and even larger physiological issues. They are a messed up team of over-achievers with high potential. Together, they can save the world or wreak havoc if they aren't handled with care.

At work, we all deal with similar over-achievers that are the best of their class. However, they have flaws that make it challenging to collaborate with, work as a team. Here are some tips that I've learnt over the years, which might help to deal with these Avengers at work.

Iron Man: Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and inventor, who wants to always do the right thing. He is the most talented person in the team. However, he is also arrogant and thinks he can do things better than anyone else, is sometimes not a team player.

The right thing to do in a situation like this, is to be transparent and let the employee know that they are part of a bigger universe, explain how their actions impact the team. Guide them so that they can develop into great employees that understand their strengths and weaknesses, are able to help the entire team, ask for help when they can't solve a problem.

Also, bias your hiring and employees towards a culture where the team is more important than self. Hire folks that care about winning as a team more than anything else. Don't ever tolerate brilliant jerks.

You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems than you in the southwest region to deal with." - Nick Fury to Iron Man

Captain America: Steve Rodgers is a scrawny little kid, that transforms into Captain America, the super hero that saves us all. He also has a fixed view of the world and wants to do things his one way.

Part of the problem is that these employees truly believe that this particular solution is the only way to solve the problem. A good starting point to deal with this is ensure that there is a relationship of trust, that you are actively listening to this person's view points. After that, if you still believe that this person is not open to thinking differently, you would work on re-phrasing the problem so that it is clear that this is a trade-off problem. It is not always black and white. Sometimes, it is all about making the least worse choice.

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We're going to neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen.""I thought the punishment usually came after the crime.""We can't afford to wait that long.""Who's we?"―Conversation between Nick Fury, Captain America

Thor: He is a demigod that is super powerful. Thor however belongs to a different world. An equivalent employee is someone who doesn't understand how to work in companies that are different from what they have been involved in before.

First and foremost, clearly articulate what you expect from these employees. Once you do that, invest a lot of time upfront in helping them build the right skills. Partner them with someone who can help bridge the gap. Pairing them with someone with complimentary skills helps both individuals grow.

I see this a lot with employees that have experience in startups and haven't worked with later stage companies and vice versa. They don't understand that the challenges are very different and are not able to adapt to these hurdles. You will need to help them understand the differences and assist them to grow. Sometimes, you might just not hire this employee, as that is not what the team needs at this stage of growth.



Thor: I thought humans were more evolved than this. Nick Fury: Excuse me, did WE come to YOUR planet and blow stuff up?

Bruce Banner/Hulk:

Hulk does one thing and he does that really really well -- Smash. Unfortunately, that is the only thing Hulk is good at. Some employees I've worked with are great at one thing, but poor in others such as communication, team work, building relationships or product thinking etc.

I generally prefer hiring employees that can wear multiple hats, are well rounded and are not a one trick pony. More on that in a future post.

Sometimes you need to hire the expert, that is the best at one thing and not good at others. If you absolutely have to do that, make sure you do everything humanly possible to allow these individuals to channel their entire energy on the problem, and are not distracted. Point the biggest alien spaceships to them, clear everything else out of the path and unleash the mass of green fury. Communicate on their behalf, isolate them if need be, hire collaborative team members that are comfortable working with these employees. Sometimes, you need to sub-optimize parts of the system to optimize for the whole.

Black Widow (or) Hawkeye:

Black Widow and Hawkeye do all the dirty work, that other Avengers don't do well. Hawkeye is a sniper, an observer. Black Widow is a spy, can get information that is critical to the success of the team. On their own, they can't fight the bad guys. However, without them Avengers have zero chance of success.

The biggest challenge with Black Widows and Hawkeyes is that they don't get as much credit or screen time as the stars. It is important to spend time with these employees and help them scale to become rockstars. Acknowledging that they play a crucial role to success of the team is paramount. Helping them identify, hone their skills is an important trait of a true leader. Who knows, these employees with the right inspiration and investment can be better than the stars.





What are your tips? How do you handle Avengers at work?





