Have you ever wondered why some people continue to make bad decisions? You see million-dollar celebrities doing it. You can see this action in government officials and business leaders. There are no discriminators. From the very rich to the poorest of the poor, we see people caught in a vicious cycle of bad decision making. Sadly, we see it much closer than that. We witness relatives making those bad decisions. Despite all the wise counsel, the poor decisions continue.
Why is it important to teach people how to make better decisions? Anthony Robbins, author of Awakening the Giant Within, attributes good decision-making as a key attribute to a happy life. Bestselling author Brian Tracy argues, “The further you think into the future, the better decisions you will make in the present to assure that future becomes a reality.” Making better decisions improves the quality of one’s life.
As a young advisor and college professor, I constantly hear students proclaim, “I’m grown.” This statement implies I don’t have to listen to anyone. I know best. Therefore, I can make my own decisions. Through series after series of bad decisions, the youth continues on merry ride of worsening consequences. Two things generally can stop this dead-end trap.
One lies in becoming more mature with age, and the other is experience. In going through a series of bad decisions, a wise person gains insight on the consequences of a bad decision. Every person, regardless of their background or social standing, can benefit from good decision-making techniques. Here are some methods to use: (a) define the problem or issues, (b) conduct research on the matter, (c) discuss with respected individuals with similar circumstances, (d) consider at least two alternatives, (e) select best decisions, based on your value system, and (f) move on and accept any consequences.
Making the right decision is a difficult process. No one will usually applaud your many good decisions; however, you will probably catch heat over the bad ones. Les Brown, author of How to Become the Person You Always Wanted to Be-No Matter What the Obstacle, explains, “Your values are not set by government or church leaders. Your values give you consistency in the way you approach life…By holding to your beliefs, you can always stay on track toward your dreams.” By making better decisions, individuals can look forward to a better quality of live.
Scientific management has many advantages for today’s organizations, including a systematic approach. Fredrick Taylor is credited with being the Father of Scientific Management. He transformed the Industrial Revolution. In fact, this approach brought a lot of productivity. However, the difficulty with Scientific Management is that it requires sales managers to select employees that fit the job and train them effectively. Additionally, it increases the monotony of work. This reality could cause some salespeople to be uninspired in their jobs.
Whereas the Scientific Management approach was a focus on tasks, the Behavioral Management approach was a focus on people. Historically, Fredrick Taylor didn’t disregard the importance of workers. In fact, the study of behavioral science and organizational behavior resulted from a criticism of the human relations approach as ‘simplistic’ and ‘manipulative’ in addressing the relationship between worker attitudes and productivity. Therefore, each management approach has its weakness.
Yet, Scientific Management has a lot of drawbacks if you want to build personal relationships with people. One of the sticky points about Scientific Management is its impersonal approach to managing people. People are a resource, but not machines. There are several other issues associated with this classical approach of managing workers, which include: (a) heavy reliance on experience and unproved assumptions, (c) failure to consider informal operations, and (d) operations assumed under static conditions.
There are no magical bullets when you are dealing with employees as human beings. The Scientific Management approach was built on the shoulders of the Industrial Revolution. Behavioral Management followed suit later. Both approaches have their shortcomings. I suggest taking the best from both worlds. Some aspects of Scientific Management can be used to further develop and standardize an organization’s operations. Employees then understand what’s expected of them.
With the Behavioral Management approach, sales managers can push performance by understanding what motivates each employee intimately. Quality expert George Peeler argues that the task of personalizing and communicating product value through interactive discussion is the task of the sales organization. Therefore, the best scenario would be to use all of the best management practices, including Scientific Management and Behavioral Management, for enhanced relationship customer relationships.
Organizations may look to a Theory Y environment for creating the right manager’s mentality that builds trust in people to do the right things. When managers demonstrate they believe in their people and set clear expectations, most individuals will work harder. Management expert Stephen Covey explains that having trust fosters confidence. Salespeople are then motivated to go the extra mile for the organization (i.e. work longer hours, work harder, etc.). Therefore, Scientific Management has its own share of problems when discussing relationship selling.
Please discuss application of this topic in your organization and industry.
No one wants to be criticized. Dr. William Watley, Senior Pastor of the St. Phillip African Methodist Episcopal Church observed, “Criticism’s certainly something that you can’t be delivered from…From the womb to the tomb, you can’t escape it.”
Criticism can be defined as ‘the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.’ No one can avoid criticism if they are active in an organization or serve in a leader’s capacity.
Yet, individuals can also be criticized because of lack of action. Dr. Watley argues that criticism is all that some people know how to do, which indicates to him that ”these people need to get a life.” Perhaps, actress Ava Gardner summed it up best about critics: “Hell, I suppose if you stick around long enough, they have to say something nice about you.”
On the contrary, a Constructive Critic points out things that will assist in the personal or professional development of a person. A Petty Fault Finder can always locate some short coming in an individual that is not helpful and a fault that he or she does not have a problem with.
In fact, no matter how hard you attempt to correct a problem noted by a Petty Fault Finder, he or she will not be satisfied; a Petty Fault Finder will seek to only locate another problem in this individual’s life.
Great leaders know how to use criticism in a way that can transform an organization. Most people are unwilling to change even when it is out of necessity or survival. Richard Daft, renowned author of Management, notes that change can be problematic for organizational growth.
Employees and managers often resist change. Dr. Daft explains, “Yet most changes will encounter some degree of resistance. Idea champions often discover that other employees are unenthusiastic about their new ideas….People typically resist a change they believe conflicts with their self-interest.”[1] Most managers understand how to control and oversee their organizations.
Few managers have the innate ability to inspire their employees from mediocre to extraordinary performance. That position description requires a leader, not a status quo manager. All great leaders, from President George Washington to Albert Einstein, had their own share of criticism and a merry band of Petty Fault Finders.
Sadly, some individuals never are effective in their positions because they can never seem to manage because of fear of negative criticism. Gareth Jones and Jennifer George, authors of Contemporary Management, explained how bad leadership damages an organization: “When leaders are ineffective, chances are good that their subordinates do not perform to their capabilities, are demotivated, and may be dissatisfied as well.”[2] Consequently, it is important that leaders develop strategies for managing criticism effectively in order to move their organizations to exemplary performance.
Please discuss criticism from your professional experience.
As I teach working adults at the university level, the biggest complaint is the lack of time to fulfill academic requirements. Of course, many working professionals must juggle their jobs, family obligations, and other priorities. It’s very difficult to be successful with these priorities. However, being successful is possible.
Everyone can benefit from good time management. Let’s examine professionals in the retail business. Professionals who interact with customers must be good stewards of their time. Yet, most people have so much trouble with time management due to conflicting priorities in their lives in a busy society.
For salespeople, life can be pretty demanding; attempting to connect with customers often means taking away from one’s personal life. Understanding how to navigate one’s time is essential in managing our priorities.
Salespeople are no exception. Mark Johnston and Greg Marshall, authors of Relationship Selling, maintain that the ability to manage time and territory is essential for salespersons for three reasons: (a) increase productivity, (b) improve customer relationships, and (c) enhance personal confidence. Therefore, good time management assists salespeople and other business professionals in mapping out their priority obligations.
Successful people distinguish the trivial from the important. This reality is true in sales, as well as other industries. In my technical field, I see many people operating in crisis mode because they are engulfed in trivial matters. Working only on trivial matters is unproductive when an individual is ignoring the important things. Time management speaks to what is really important to you.
Stephen Covey, author of Seven Habits for Highly Effective People, argued that highly successful people know how to manage their time (aka ‘Put first things first’). He notes, “Effective management is all about putting first things first. While leadership decides what the ‘first things’ are, it is management that puts them first, day by day, moment by moment.
Management is the discipline carrying it out. The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do.” Therefore, distinguishing the important from the trivial is part of good time management.
Developing effective time management skills is not a simple or short process. When a salesperson is young and single, he or she has different priorities. The individual may be willing to make huge concessions, such as long hours, to move ahead or make additional income.
Yet, the individual may transition into a different stage, where he is married and has children. This reality can shift his priorities. Some people balance this strategically. Therefore, different life stages can impact an individual’s time management.
Discuss your professional experience on this topic.
Our youth program continues to grow at my church. Of course, it is a simple formula as our church is one of the biggest in the area. Church going parents make it mandatory for their children to attend church and participate in church services. However, when the children graduate from high school and became young adults, their attendance becomes very low or non-existent.
At that time, Velma Biddles was the youth leader and fairly new to the position. She and her youth advisors have seen the shift of young people’s attitude. If churches want to be effective with youth, they must change their underpinning message of: “Children are to be seen and not heard.” Our youth advisors started to deal with the root causes of matters concerning our youth. Sadly, many businesses are spending millions on symptoms. What about you?
Good problem solving can be an asset in an organization. Some organizations find themselves solving the wrong problems and getting less than desired results. Other managers assume that good technical staff members are naturally good problem solvers. However, this observation is not necessarily true. Effective problem solvers often have an intuitive skill set or enough training in problem solving for finding the right problems and making the best decisions.
John Gamble and Arthur Thompson, authors of Essentials of Strategic Management, outline the importance of filling key managerial slots with people who are good at figuring out what needs to be done and possess skills in effective implementation and in producing desired results. They note, “No company can hope to perform the activities required for successful strategy execution without attracting and retaining talented managers and employees with suitable skills and intellectual capital.” A problem can be defined as ‘an obstacle that stands in the way of achieving a desired goal.’ In fact, problems are divergences from the preferred outcomes.
The basic problem solving stages include: (a) Identify the problem, (b) Gather information, (c) Clarify the problem, (d) Consider possible solutions, (e) Select the best option, and (f) Make a decision and monitor the solution. High performing organizations move beyond superficial problem solving in order to get to the root causes. Good businesses realize that uncovering the real problems can be beneficial in many ways, such as reduced risks, cost savings, and greater efficiencies.
Jeff Butterfield, author of Problem Solving and Decision Making, argues about the benefits of talented problem solvers: “People who can identify, define, and solve problems are valued members of an organization.”
Like our youth advisors recognizing the problem and adapting appropriate solutions, today’s managers must be willing to move beyond their own bias to discover the real causes of problems. Too many managers seek to major in the minors. High performing organizations cannot afford to let this happen.
In general, effective problem solving can be a great competitive advantage for organizations. Formulating better decision making happens with more effective problem solving. Businesses with talented problem solvers will have a greater capacity for sustainable success.
Discuss your professional experience with problem solving in your industry or organization.
The purpose of this dialogue involves discussing the concept of Ethics from a moderate-induced pastoral perception. Ethics per se, as a universal model, involves or requires the decision-making acuities of any rational corporeal agent who intends to initiate or maintain a common, communal, and cultural balance among individuals.
As such, Ethics may be simplified by considering that the concept Ethics is a universal representative model that includes all the possible values, desires, and intents of human society. These components serve to form the ingredients that are molded and shaped to create a sort of utilitarian ideal.
This systematic decision-making process is then drawn to provide the ideal concept for what is to be considered as responsible and acceptable behavior. Because the ideal model is grounded in the dynamic and continual activity of harmonizing shared or ecumenical values against communal intents and desired objectives, Ethics then becomes both a suitable and most reasonable strategy for any extant structure that would be devoid of a practical methodology that assists in sustaining prolonging and strengthening the human-inhabited community. Very succinctly stated, Ethics, then, is the monitoring, sustaining, and prolonging of values and life using an acceptable set of agreeable contexts to avoid chaos at all costs.
Ethics from the Common Pastoral Perspective
From the common perspective, it is apparent that many individuals inhabit this cosmological domain we call society. We indeed, have or are sharing the commonness of possessing uniquely distinguishable attributes. Where this is not the case, then human behavioral characteristics would not be universally recognizable as uniquely separate and the simple adjective, individual and its supplementary cognates, would have no referenced or understandable meanings.
Despite the broad-spectrum of agreement that reflects the general idea that most individuals exhibit a tendency of being extraordinarily intelligent and competent to communicate and placate reasonable common practices on their own, unfortunately most of their efforts only result in creating or contributing to an undesired chaos.
Therefore, one of the most ultimate objectives of the ethereal community or spiritual structures, the church, is to assist in ensuring that the state of balance, growth, and maintenance is continued within this physical society to assure a continued existence and promulgation of the human species.
Unique differences do exist. External negative factors and the disproportionate presence of human values, illuminates the church, per se, as endeavoring to moderate the corpus of divergent human values and objectives with an intended hope of extending and bettering human society. Hence, the pastoral ministry becomes the church’s primary ordering instrument and may be considered as a useful and constructive vocation.
The church or ecclesiastical institution is but one agency among other ethical institutions such as business and commerce, court judicial systems, financial management corporations, and even merchandisers that exist. While each is uniquely different, all have similar aspirations and purposeful intentions aimed at maintaining, building, and cultivating, a useful and practical universal arrangement that both molds and shapes the common society of all. Merely addressing this common perspective regarding Ethics is not enough; the cultural perspective of Ethics too, must be addressed.
Ethics from a Cultural Balance Perspective
Having considered the vastness of the anthropological species, it is apparent that the present earth has a landscape that is draped and cluttered with many disagreeing ethnic groups, opposing religious beliefs and ecologically-damaging vocational occupations. Here, the sociological investigator or those who consider the boundaries of Ethics are met with impending difficulties in prescribing and designing an ethical system that truly benefits all and agitates none. This sort of scenario offers an opportunity to introduce the utilitarian model of Ethics in a cultural perspective.
Harsanyi (1986) states, “The fundamental assumption of utilitarian theory is that we ought to choose our moral standards by rational criteria…that we ought to choose the moral standards of the highest expected social utility” (Harsanyi, 1986, p 1). While the previous statement of Harsanyi (1986) does indeed, suggest an idealistic prescriptive remedy for what one should do in the instance of possessing an innate sense of “oughtness”, one quickly realizes that such a solution is not readily practical or socially accommodating because of the many differing cultural variances that do exist.
Again, in employing the “oughtness” concept, additional accumulative difficulties tend to surface; language barriers, societal customs, and religious beliefs, are often the most prevalent conflicts when considering utilitarianism. Despite this state of disunity, communication becomes an indispensable component regarding helping to balance the great cultural divide. Queries like “Whose global government is the most appropriate for all people?” “What political persuasion truly benefits everyone?” and “Whose academic description of Ethics is most readily to be believed?”
Societies have yet arrived at a most adoptable solution and the continual presence and practice of effective communication skills has helped leaders to sustain an operable state despite the world’s multi-faceted assortment of values, ideas, and objectives.
Ethics from a Communal Perspective
Imaginatively, there is an illustrative philosophical axiom that relates to the idea that if the physical world has sufficient amenities to sustain an individual people, then it must certainly also possess the capacity to sustain a corpus that contains every person. Revisiting the three components that are useful in maintaining an equitable balance of values against the intended objectives of all humanity, a simple and practical solution is to begin to view the world’s populace as a single immense community.
Although varying, culturally, and ethnically different, these observed differences truly make life an ongoing enterprise. Irrational creatures, being much more numerous and less adept in the skills of intelligence and transforming abilities, do exist in harmony. Humans, too, can co-exist peacefully if they would exercise their skills regarding communication. Many instances of miscommunication have ignited wars, isolated cultures, and decimated whole societies.
Sensibly, if the balance of human society is to continue, then more effective ways of ethical communication must be employed to retain the delicate arrangement of human society. Two inquiries to consider are; “What becomes of a society that lacks a set of Ethics to enhance its development?” and “What benefit does a set of ethical axioms do when an intelligent species has annihilated itself do to the lack of communication?” This scenario depicts that practical Ethics is not only possible but a necessity.
Please provide your personal or professional insight on the subject discussed.
(c) 2014 by Bruce Martin
About the Guest Blogger
Rev. Bruce Martin is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee and is a licensed and ordained minister of 35 years. He is a now-retired mechanical designer from the Tennessee Valley Authority. Rev. Martin attended the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia as a Civil Engineering major in 1974. He presently holds a Bachelors Degree in Systematic Theology from the American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from the Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
He also completed graduate studies in Divinity at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Presently, Rev. Martin is a 3rd year doctoral candidate in Education at the Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Rev. Martin was formerly the Senior Pastor of the Oakland Baptist Church in Louisville. While residing there, he taught New Testament Theology at Simmons College.
Reference
Harsanyi, J. C. (1986). Individual utilities and utilitarian ethics (pp. 1-12). Physica-Verlag HD.
Visionary leadership is vital to organizations that wish to exist in competitive environments. Yet, it is not enough to have only one visionary leader in an organization’s existence. Through their visions, leaders can articulate their values and principles.
Aubrey Malphurs, author of Values-Driven Leadership, notes, “An organization’s core values signal its bottom line…every organization must have a commitment to values that matter. The organization must passionately stand for something.” There are numerous examples where a visionary founder departed the scene. Consequently, the organization began to falter and in some cases fail.
For example, George Eastman founded Eastman Kodak Company in 1888, which later came to be known simply as ‘Kodak.’ Eastman was a high school dropout with an average intelligence according to academic standards of that time. Even though he grew up and had to support his widowed mother and two sisters, Eastman had a knack for business.
At the age of 14, Eastman worked as an office boy in an insurance company and later got into other business ventures. Eastman’s high energy, his gift for organization and management, and his entrepreneurial mind were all personality traits that helped transform his Eastman Kodak Company into an American industry leader. When Eastman died on March 14, 1932 at the age of 77, the company lost more than just its founder.
Due to the founder’s vision, Kodak become a dominant player in photographic film. In fact, the company controlled 89% of the photographic film market in America during 1976. Despite past success, the company lost its way. By the late 1990s, Kodak struggled financially due to the emergence of digital photography. This reality was strange since Kodak invented the core technology utilized in digital cameras. In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy and sold many of its prized patents.
Many organizations have lost the sense of a dynamic leader with a compelling vision. Visions often are denoted as powerful images in one’s mind that compels him or her to action often at a subconscious level. To many, dreams and visions are the same thing because they often happen while someone is asleep.
Some people think about their dreams; others may talk about a particular vision. Yet, a visionary leader can share his or her vision and compel followers to make the vision become a reality. Visionary leadership can be defined as “the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, and attractive vision of the future that improves upon the present situation.”
Gregory Dess, G.T. Lumpkin, and Alan Eisner, authors of Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages, explain that leaders must develop and implement their visions. A visionary leader can do these things and more.
In a survey of executives from more than 20 different countries, 98% of these global leaders noted that a strong vision was the most critical trait of a good leader. Additionally, those surveyed stated that the ability to formulate a strategy to implement one’s vision was the most vital knowledge skill.
Consequently, it is not enough to have a vision; a leader must have the organizational skills and communication abilities to implement a vision. Today’s businesses need to create leadership development programs that stimulate the growth of visionary leadership from within.
Discuss your professional experience with visionary leadership in your industry.
Life keeps getting tougher for folks to survive. While politicians and media pundits seize the opportunity of each life-changing event, families seek to make the best of a struggling economy. According to the latest government job report this month, just 74,000 more people were employed in December versus 205,000 expected by USA Today’s survey of 37 economists.[1]
Life will become tougher for job seekers as globalization sweeps down on country after country. For some countries, they will become industry leaders while others will fade into the night of obscurity. Many Americans are retreating from the workforce, causing the unemployment rate to fall to 6.7% in December.
In fact, only 62.8% of the adult population is participating in the labor market now; participation rates relate to those individuals who have employment or those actively seeking employment.[2] Heidi Shierholz, an Economic Policy Institute economist, explains: “We’re going to have a long-term unemployment crisis for a long time.”
This current low participation in the job market matches the lowest level since 1978. According to USA Today business reporter John Waggoner, the economy could be puzzling to the average American: “…corporations have plenty of cash in their coffers to expand and meet future demand. But the job numbers don’t reflect that yet.”[3]
Companies taunt their corporate responsibility to the community with such public relationship activities as sponsoring local events. Yet, more workers wish these companies would renew their social contracts with American employees to ensure them of a decent wage.
Consequently, some workers often become victim of their company’s good fortune. Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, explains, “The best companies outsource to win, not to shrink. They outsource to innovate faster and more cheaply in order to grow larger, gain market share, and hire more and different specialists—not to save money by firing more people.”
The world’s poor stands at more than 1.1 billion people, mostly rural Africans, Indians, and other South Asians. In fact, the poorest fifth of the world’s people earn just 2% of the world’s income.[4] With companies moving into emerging markets, they can raise the standard of living for millions.
Today world’s middle class earns an average of $700 to $7,500 per family member according to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Report. Many companies would argue that their global reach has improved the quality of life for millions around the world and this is a small price to pay for the loss of a few jobs domestically.
Discuss if American businesses must deal with the search for cheaper labor and the consequences on the quality of life for millions of individuals locally.
During our last Caribbean cruise together, my wife Estraletta and I made it a nightly routine to eat a formal dinner together with new friends, enjoy a nightly session of Latin dancing in a new cultural setting, and end the night in a variety of dancing venues, from contemporary to the classic waltz.
I must admit what captured my attention on the dance floor was watching senior citizens who were African-Americans dance the swing with so much precision and accuracy. I was amazed to see an elderly man who was riding in a mobile cart, stumble on to the dance floor with some assistance, grab a senior citizen woman and swing her around the dance floor til there was no end.
With his knack of swing dancing, he found himself the bell of the ball. Women were lined up to dance with him until he was exhausted. When we returned home, we attended another social event where seniors were swinging on the dance floor.
The swing dance was not a dance choice for my generation of break dancers. In fact, my older sister was a Baby Boomer and her generation appeared to reject swing dancing of that generation. Therefore, I found myself intrigued and ignorant about the contributions of African-Americans on swing dancing in American history.
In September, I will be sponsoring a swing dance through the Academy Ballroom in Knoxville in order to celebrate the art of swing and honor the contributions of African Americans in this art form. The event,” Dr. Green Presents ‘Swing at the Savoy’: a dance class series reflecting the music and dance of Harlem in the 1920s.”
The class will start on September 6th, at 6pm. Dancing can be life changing. Paul Bottomer, author of Let’s Dance, explains the power of dancing: “Whatever your musical taste or individual preferences, the huge variety of dance ensure that there is something to suit you. You do not need to be a good dancer to enjoy the dancing, the music, the mood, the atmosphere and, of course, the social life.”[1]
Of course, many folks will not embrace anything different. This reaction is fine. However, some individuals make it a habit to criticize others in the process. Criticism can be noted as ‘the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.’
Critics come in all shape and sizes. If you are a weak individual, you will find yourself needing to maneuver through the opinions of critics. Different people have distinctive “locus of control” which refers to how people perceive life events.
Individuals with an external locus of control feel that things are outside of their control and can be easily manipulated by outside events. Individuals with an internal locus of control feel in control of their own fate.
Dr. Richard Draft, author of Management, notes, “People with an internal locus of control are easier to motivate because they believe the rewards are the result of their behavior.”[2]
He further explains that people with an external locus of control are harder to motivate, less involved in their jobs, and more likely to blame others. Living life based on the opinions of others can lead individuals toward a mediocre existence. Can you afford to live a mediocre life?
Since my wife and I have started ballroom dancing, I have gained a great deal of confidence, creative brain power, and a healthier lifestyle (about 2-3 hours of dancing a week). Perhaps, it’s interesting that guys who cannot dance are the ones who are most prone to ridicule and mock others who can.
Fortunately, good leaders understand how to inspire followers to exemplary performance even in the face of stiff criticism. Therefore, doing things like swing dancing sets you apart as a leader guided by his or her own internal locus of control.
Discuss the concept of leading with an internal locus of control.
I do know how to make my wife laugh…even at my expense. I have been fascinated with ballroom dancing since last year. It was something I reluctantly embraced after being taken kicking and screaming to the dance floor. Several weeks ago I thought it would be nice to practice my dance moves so that I would perform them better. My wife was out of town at the time. I got a notice about a dance with a live band on Saturday. I thought it would be cool.
However, I should have read the fine print. When I got to the event, it was packed full of energy and enthusiasm. What I failed to learn was that the dance was at a senior citizen center. That meant I would be dancing with my mother and grandmother at the event. Secretly, I pledged to myself that I would not ask anyone to dance and gracefully exit from this event. The average age of the attendees was over 80 years old. I was but a puppy at 40 + years old.
However, my exit strategy did not work. I invited myself to sit (of course, I did not know anyone and just dashed to the nearest unoccupied sit) with a well-to-do couple who was visiting in the area. They were well educated, financially secure, and very mobile; they had winter and summer homes. Having a questioning nature, I asked about how they perceived life and what the general attitude of these folks was in general since they were all part of the Greatest Generation. I was pretty shocked at the responses.
They noted that many of them did not care about any past accomplishments, titles, wealth, or status symbols. Most folks were mostly concerned with their health, quality of life, and having enough money to live. Kids and grandkids were rarely mentioned (many had been abandoned by them). With them approaching the end of their golden years, the focus was on current relationships and values. In fact, there was an evolution by many of them in their thinking: “There was no shame in their game.”
Many couples had forgone the taboos of living together (aka ‘shacking up) because these people did not want to lose their Social Security checks or other financial means. In a nutshell, they did not care about what others thought about them. It was something that I could relate to in ballroom dancing.
My male friends give me a hard time about ballroom dancing. However, at the same time, they cannot dance, garnish the attention of others by doing something others could not do, or inject into their character fresh confidence in learning how to do something new and different. Many people do not progress in life for fear of being criticized.
No one wants to be criticized. Dr. William Watley, Senior Pastor of the St. Phillip African Methodist Episcopal Church observed, “Criticism’s certainly something that you can’t be delivered from…From the womb to the tomb, you can’t escape it.” Criticism can be defined as ‘the expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes.’
No one can avoid criticism if they are active in an organization or serve in a leader’s capacity. Yet, individuals can also be criticized because of lack of action. Dr. Watley argues that criticism is all that some people know how to do, which indicates to him that ”these people need to get a life.” Perhaps, actress Ava Gardner summed it up best about critics: “Hell, I suppose if you stick around long enough, they have to say something nice about you.”
On the contrary, a Constructive Critic points out things that will assist in the personal or professional development of a person. A Petty Fault Finder can always locate some short coming in an individual that is not helpful and a fault that he or she does not have a problem with. In fact, no matter how hard you attempt to correct a problem noted by a Petty Fault Finder, he or she will not be satisfied; a Petty Fault Finder will seek to only locate another problem in this individual’s life.
Great leaders know how to use criticism in a way that can transform an organization. Most people are unwilling to change even when it is out of necessity or survival. Richard Daft, renowned author of Management, notes that change can be problematic for organizational growth.
Employees and managers often resist change. Dr. Daft explains, “Yet most changes will encounter some degree of resistance. Idea champions often discover that other employees are unenthusiastic about their new ideas….People typically resist a change they believe conflicts with their self-interest.”[1] Most managers understand how to control and oversee their organizations.
Few managers have the innate ability to inspire their employees from mediocre to extraordinary performance. That position description requires a leader, not a status quo manager. All great leaders, from President George Washington to Albert Einstein, had their own share of criticism and a merry band of Petty Fault Finders.
Sadly, some individuals never are effective in their positions because they can never seem to manage because of fear of negative criticism. Gareth Jones and Jennifer George, authors of Contemporary Management, explained how bad leadership damages an organization: “When leaders are ineffective, chances are good that their subordinates do not perform to their capabilities, are demotivated, and may be dissatisfied as well.”[2] Consequently, it is important that leaders develop strategies for managing criticism effectively in order to move their organizations to exemplary performance.
Please discuss how to cope with negative criticism in a professional work environment.
Nu Leadership Revolution Blog 