Tea "Sergeant Schultz" Syndrome

If you’re a fan of ’60s TV, you’ll definitely remember the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. If not, let me provide you with some background. It is set in a prisoner of war camp in Germany during World War II. Led by an American colonel named Hogan, a group of prisoners of war manipulates a group of bumbling German guards and officers to sabotage the German war machine.

One of the main characters in this satire was Sergeant Schultz, a large burly teddy bear on duty who could easily be bribed with food and avoided conflict like the plague. Every time he saw prisoners involved in some kind of evil, he would say: “I see nothing, I hear nothing and I know nothing.” Schultz would then turn and walk away pretending nothing had happened.

Although the television series has been off the air for several years, the spirit of Sergeant Schultz lives on in the workplace.

Throughout my career I have encountered several supervisors and managers who behave like Sergeant Schultz. They often put off any action because they want to avoid unpleasant discussions with employees or because they don’t want to risk angering employees. Sometimes they just wait and wonder if the problem is really worth bringing up. Other times they avoid taking corrective action because they feel they do not have the support of senior management. Sometimes, it is because they lack the skills and abilities to handle these types of situations.

However, in most situations, procrastination harms the employee, management, and the organization. The longer an employee is allowed to perform at unacceptable levels, the more difficult it is for them to correct that performance. An employee who performs unacceptably damages relationships with others and loses credibility. That credibility can be very difficult to regain if the problem continues for a long time.

Your credibility as a leader may also suffer, because you will eventually lose the respect and cooperation of your team if you try to avoid your responsibility to train to improve. Unchecked poor performance and unsupervised problem behaviors erode the standards you have set by confusing and frustrating employees who meet these standards.

Failure to correct a performance or work habit problem can also have far-reaching effects on every member of your team. If one employee doesn’t produce as expected or breaks established work rules, it’s not fair to others who must pick up the slack or who legitimately expect everyone to follow the rules.

I once worked in a place where Sergeant Schultz Syndrome was flourishing. It was a very unhealthy work environment. Unacceptable behavior was not controlled or challenged and therefore became the norm. Employees and management had no respect for each other, absenteeism was hovering around 25%, morale was abysmally low, and the business was suffering. There was no order or structure. It was as close to chaos as you could get. Needless to say, it took a great deal of energy and time to change the situation and make the behavior changes that were required.

If you want to avoid these types of situations in your workplace, ban Sergeant Schultz. Exile him to Siberia. He’s a nice guy, but as Leo Durocher, the late manager of the Chicago Cubs, once said, “Good guys finish last.” Nobody likes to finish last!!