Do you care?
Seth Godin on Personal vs. Impersonal. He says,
Do you know what most people want? They want you to care.
This comes through so often in life. I think this is a big factor in both retention and recruitment of great staff. Research will tell you that an important factor in whether or not a youth joins a gang or is successful is the number of adults in their life that care about them. I think that some of this comes through when things aren’t going our way. Michael Wade at Execupundit has a great post on Feeling and Acting.
The best colleagues have a positive demeanor even if they don’t feel like it.
Individuals who believe that their feelings are the key criterion mistakenly conclude that their colleagues just have better moods. That is not so. On any given Monday morning, most meeting participants would rather be on a beach in Tahiti but they have the decency and professionalism not to show it.
Some would argue that that because you are acting, it is fake. I disagree. I think you act like you have energy and are paying attention because you do care. Certainly, there are times when you just need to be honest and take a step back. I often tell advisors at conferences that we can’t be tired until Sunday (after the teens are safely home). Being tired/grouchy etc. is useless at that point and only allows teens to have the excuse to do the same. This is similar to the philosphy of Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results
Leave a Reply