Sharing the Spotlight
with a Scene Stealer

by Cynthia Clay, President, NetSpeed Learning Solutions

Scene Stealers attempt to build their reputations by competing with others for attention and recognition, often by undermining the reputations of others. In the scene stealer's ambitious eyes, the spotlight should be theirs alone: they won't look good unless you look bad.  

A Scene Stealer's Story  

Meet Jessica, who has recently joined the marketing research team. Her resume, which she sent to everyone on the team her first day at work, indicates that she graduated from Stanford University and just completed an internship with a well-regarded technology company. Her new teammates welcomed Jessica's enthusiasm at first. On the surface, she was knowledgeable, passionate, and full of ideas.   

After a few weeks, however, Mary began to realize that Jessica often threw out critical comments about her projects during staff meeting updates. Mary, a well-regarded, experienced researcher was surprised to notice that Jessica's criticism seemed to be directed primarily at her.  Mary was dismayed to discover that in her emails to others, Jessica would challenge Mary's conclusions or question the processes she suggested. One day as she returned from lunch, Mary overheard Jessica talking to another teammate in an open cubicle. She stopped dead in her tracks as she heard Jessica say, "I'm not sure Mary really understands the issues here. I'm surprised that she has been allowed to do this kind of work. In fact, I feel strongly that our boss needs to hear our concerns. You are so well-regarded. I'd like you to come with me so that we can correct any misinformation that Mary has communicated."

Let's look at a few clues that identify the scene stealer, who:  

• Appears friendly to your face, yet criticizes you often behind your back
• Blames you for her mistakes
• Takes credit for accomplishments that are not her own
• Tells obvious falsehoods about you that can be countered with fact
• Inflates her own accomplishments
• Builds relationships with a chosen few and excludes others
• Takes over roles that belong to others
• Criticizes you to others or copies others on critical e-mails
• Leaves you holding the bag when a project doesn't go as planned 

Scene stealers, in their quest for recognition, have the ability to split cohesive teams apart. To see a scene stealer in action, watch this short video at NetSpeed Fast Tracks.   

There are three principles that can help you work with scene stealers to encourage collaboration instead of competition: Take Responsibility, Build Relationships, and Be Real.  

Take Responsibility    

• Ensure that you receive the credit you deserve.
• Establish ground rules and document agreements.
• Keep your boss informed about your work and ask him to encourage direct communication between peers.  

Build Relationships     

• Build and protect the scene stealer's self-esteem.
• Get input from the scene stealer before you take actions that may affect her.

Be Real

• Share your concerns with the scene stealer.
• Offer to discuss her concerns about promotions or assignments. 

Many scene stealers expect and need to be appreciated and acknowledged regularly. Pay attention to their contributions and thank them publicly.   At the same time, act swiftly to ensure greater openness among team members. Backstabbing is never an acceptable workplace behavior. It's appropriate for the team to set ground rules about communicating openly when issues arise. 

Speed Read Recommendation

Everything I Know About Business
I Learned From The Grateful Dead

by Barry Barnes, PhD

Trainer Tips: How To Avoid
Death by PowerPoint

by Cynthia Clay

The conventional wisdom about PowerPoint in the classroom is "Less is more." Trainers are often advised to reduce the number of slides and focus on creating a connection with their learners, many of whom have come to dread Death by PowerPoint. This advice is certainly sound for the physical (face-to-face) classroom but does it apply to the virtual classroom?
 

Most web conference platforms assume the trainer will display a PowerPoint slide deck and speak about those slides while the learners take notes and pose an occasional question. The virtual classroom environment could be called the visual classroom environment.  A well-designed slide deck with compelling graphics is the key to capturing and maintaining learners' attention. Here are ten guidelines to govern your use of PowerPoint in the virtual (visual) classroom: 

1. Limit text on each slide.
2. Attend to the 6x6 rule (no more than six lines, six words per line).
3. Break up complicated graphs and charts on multiple slides.
4. Use simple fonts (Ariel and Helvetica are often favored by slide converters.
5. Add evocative graphics that generate an emotional connection to the material. (Check out iStockphoto where you can purchase low resolution images at low prices.)
6. Add icons to signal interaction: chat, poll, whiteboard, and feedback.
7. Put instructions for activities on the slides for learners to reference.
8. When delivering, use annotation tools (for example, the text tool, highlighter, or pointer arrow) to focus learners.
9. As you present, adopt the rule of thumb: no more than one minute on each slide.
10. Display the PowerPoint inside the platform, not from your desktop, so that you have fast access to the platform's interaction tools.    

(The content in this Trainer Tips is based on Cynthia Clay's book, Great Webinars: How to Create Interactive Learning that is Captivating, Informative and Fun to be republished by Pfeiffer in February 2012.)