Being creative is no excuse for being flaky

I was rather dismayed by a story on CNN.com this week. Mary Lorenz wrote a story in its “career” section that excused flaky employees as free spirits with untapped creativity to contribute.

Well, perhaps I’m too corporate, but that’s new-age nonsense.

The article, “Are you the flaky employee?,” defines flaky people as those who have excessive tardiness, are unable to prioritize or finish a project by its due date, who are unreliable, and who are forgetful.

About them, the author writes, “Oftentimes, these people simply need to find a work environment where they can let their creativity and innovation run free. More often than not, the employee with these traits doesn’t have the problem, the company does.”

Hogwash. Every company would have problems with an employee who can’t get his or her job done, and who can’t be depended upon. You’re not going to be a success in your job, and in your life, if you’re unreliable or flaky.

In my career, I’ve worked with hundreds of brilliantly creative writers, editors, artists, musicians, software architects, developers. Most of them – the successful ones – aren’t excessively tardy, and generally hit their deadlines.

IMHO, being brilliantly creative is no excuse for being unreliable, consistently late to work, and unable to complete a project.

The author continues, “Creative types may not necessarily conform to a company’s culture, but it’s that noncomformity and ability to think outside the box that makes them good at what they do.”

More hogwash. If you’re not getting your work done, then in my opinion, you’re not good at what you do, because you’re not doing it. Sure, you may have creative potential – but you’re squandering it.

She writes, “If you find that you continually start projects at the last minute, spend more time updating your MySpace page than you do on your upcoming presentation, take a liberal approach to the term ‘lunch hour,’ or call in sick on a weekly basis, chances are you’re wreaking havoc on your boss and the co-workers who have to make up for your flaky behavior.”

I don’t call such behavior merely flaky. I call it slacking. I call it immature. I call it selfish and rude. If you’re that flaky employee, my advice is: Get your act together, and grow up.