I’ve always maintained that “Dilbert” isn’t just a comic strip, it’s a documentary of bad management practices. And CMS just did something that seems straight out of “Dilbert.” The school system is demanding that employees by Friday sign a waiver authorizing credit checks and research into their “character, general reputation, personal characteristics and mode of living” or face termination.
Mode of living? Catbert would be so proud. Purrrrrrr.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of teachers and other school system employees are outraged. As Mary McCray, president of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators put it:
I don’t know where CMS is pulling this from and I don’t understand why. It’s like they’re intimidating people.
Even if CMS’ request were reasonable and well intentioned — and it is far from certain that it is — the way this was presented is absolutely morale crushing. The timing is also questionable at best, with just over three months left in the school year.
Leadership involves more than making people do things. It involves inspiring people who, unlike Dilbert and his coworkers, have the choice of working elsewhere. CMS obviously doesn’t understand that.
