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They drain the energy and spirit out of their co-workers and the organization, and their ranks are increasing. That's why enlightened Leaders need to recognize and awaken every zombie they encounter.
A major threat may exist in your workplace. ..the peril of zombieism. In organizations around the world, zombies have infiltrated all levels of the labor ranks. Carrying their messages of victimhood and pessimism, they infect the whole organization at an exponential rate. At this very moment your organization could suffer from lifeless humans. Zombies could be undermining the mission, vision, and the very future existence of your organization.
The good news is that zombie-ism has a cure. Many zombies can be brought back to life; restored as contributing members of the organization. The challenge is that the cure requires each zombie to recognize the condition, desire restoration to the living, and self-administer the therapy. The living can coach initial consciousness in the lifeless; however, to sustain existence among the living, each zombie must discover his/her own meaning in life and remain awake to that purpose - especially in challenging times.
Have no doubt, however; urgent action is necessary now. Zombie-ism, left unchecked, will destroy your organization from the inside out. Leaders at every level must be persistent in rooting out zombies and demanding their redemption or elimination from the work force. Furthermore, it is essential for the human resource unit to revamp the hiring process to avoid letting this terminal virus into the organization.
How to Recognize Zombies
Once you know the dangers zombies pose to the organization and their behavior patterns, they are fairly easy to identify. For too long, hiring and retaining for skills alone caused leaders to be blinded to the Zombie threat. Skills have their value, but having a living work force is indispensable.
You can recognize a zombie by using two primary methods: conversation and observation of behaviors. These methods expose the zombie because a lack of consciousness is the key sign and becomes obvious immediately when connecting with a zombie.
First, the zombie's lack of awareness is detected through conversation. When inquiring about the rationale for performing daily tasks, the zombie sees no connection to the overall mission of the organization. When asking about the reasons zombies...