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Don't Be That Guy or That Girl

Dec 3, 2019

Posted by

Nathan Jamail

Nathan Jamail, President of the Jamail Development Group and author of "The Sales Leaders Playbook," is a motivational speaker, entrepreneur and corporate coach. As a former Executive Director for Spr Read more

Have you had your company ‘Holiday’ party yet? It is that time of year for company parties and year-end sales events. Events that leaders spend lots of money and time planning with the intent to show their employees how much they appreciate their hard work as well as recognize their top performers.

Festivities aside, you can bet your bottom dollar many of them will ask that famous question the next morning, “Hey did you see that guy or girl last night at the company event?” That question can have many answers and some may sound like, “Oh yeah, everybody did when his drunk self got on the microphone and slurred profanity for everybody to hear. Did you happen to see that girl; she was so drunk she was saying all kinds of inappropriate things to her boss”.

Here is one thing I can guarantee-his or her boss remembers it and the boss’s boss remembers it and they are for sure talking about it, but it is not a funny story at the coffee station; no they are talking to HR or legal on how they are going to handle the situation. Great careers have been ended at company events by someone being that guy or that girl.

Simple company or business event rules:

  • Use the 2 drink max rule or if you have a low tolerance then soda is probably what you want.

  • Remember no matter your surroundings (a hotel, a restaurant, etc.) you are still at work.

  • Don’t be the last one at the bar, because you probably broke the 1st and 2nd rule.

  • Have fun.

What is a company to do?

Many leaders are doing fewer events and some are eliminating them all together to help avoid the human resource and legal issues that happen so often during these events. I believe that is a costly mistake that can cost companies in morale. Keep doing the events, and focus on educating the teams on the appropriate behavior for the event. Know that at every event there will be that guy or that girl and you can deal with them, but the good news is there are those remaining great employees talking about that guy and how thankful they are to be working for a company that shows how much they appreciate them. Events can be expensive and a pain for many leaders, but they are cheap compared to unmotivated and unhappy employees and clients.