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Today’s Tip: I Don't Care
You are working on a project
report and need information from a team member who is not
forthcoming – he doesn’t care. You are left trying to work
around his inaction.
Your boss asks you to so something, and you agree but your
heart really isn’t in it. You don’t care. You might not give
it your best effort; you get around to it – eventually.
There are a number of reasons people don’t care about their
work. Perhaps the most obvious: our job isn’t well suited to
our particular skills and interests. It’s just a paycheck
and we are simply going through the motions.
Other reasons can be less obvious. Perhaps we don’t care
because what we are doing has become too routine; in these
cases, we need to find new ways to challenge ourselves.
Perhaps it is because we don’t know how or why what we are
doing is important; we might view it as busywork. Or perhaps
we don’t feel like we are a valued member of the team.
When someone’s attitude of not caring is causing us problems
it is all the more important we take our communications up a
notch. It is not always easy to inspire someone and get them
on board with something that is perceived to benefit us and
not them. We do this by emphasizing two important facets of
the request:
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Create a vision: Let the person know why what you are doing
is important, and why his or her input is valuable. What is
the potential impact if you cannot complete your assignment?
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Persuade them: Make it personal. Show the person how your
goals and his/hers are congruent.
We can’t just say we need something. Our needs must be
expressed in terms of the other person’s needs and
interests. We can tell them all the delivery trucks are
idled and the CEO gets a telephone call at 3:00 in the
morning if the report isn’t done on time. We can talk about
the synergy between what you and he/she do and the
possibility their boss could be blind-sided in a meeting
with higher management because our work is incomplete. We
let them know what is in it for them. We can and must assure
them they are part of the team and get credit for helping.
When we are the one who doesn’t care, we motivate ourselves
using the same tools. We remind ourselves how this
information or task fits into the bigger picture. We tell
ourselves how it will look to others, especially our bosses,
if we don’t perform at our best. We look at how doing this
now will benefit us later. If need be, we remind ourselves
how much we need the job.
Though we should never expect to get our emotional needs met
at our jobs, we are human and our jobs do affect us. If we
are truly uninspired at work, we would be well advised to
consider making a change – it is better to do so on our
terms than to have our bosses force us into it if we aren’t
performing adequately. Besides, life is too short to spend
that much time being bored and simply going through the
motions.
Remember… it’s all in how you say it!
If you have a specific
communication issue you would like to see addressed in this
forum, let Sherry know by contacting her at
sherry@thewattsconnection.com.
Let Sherry Help You:
Sherry often speaks to groups interested in
learning how they improve their communication skills. If you
know of a group looking for speakers, ask her how she can
tailor a program to their specific needs.
If you want to learn more about how coaching can help you
take your communications to the next level, Sherry offers a
complimentary coaching session designed to help you
experience coaching and see if it is right for you.
You can contact Sherry at
sherry@thewattsconnection.com.
Upcoming Presentations Open to the Public:
Sherry gives presentations on the issues of
violence against women, trafficking in persons and
communications. We will on occasion inform you of those that
are open to the public. Two such presentations in the next
month are:
May 25 Human Trafficking: A Look at Modern Day Slavery
9:00 a.m. Westshore Unitarian Universalist Church
20301 Hilliard Boulevard
Rocky River, Ohio
(Sunday morning during their adult education hour)
June 1 Human Trafficking: The Body & Soul of Modern Day
Slavery
1:00 p.m. Unity Spiritual Center
23855 Detroit Road
Westlake, Ohio
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Contact us and let us know how the tip
helped you.
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