Let us take a moment to recall the most recent engagement in which a companion condemned one of our ideas. What emotions did this trigger inside of us? Were we able to prevent that individual from controlling our mind and our emotions? Did we instead harness the resent inside and turn it into a matching emotional blow. Perhaps we simply agreed with the adversary, and the fire was not kindled. When contemplating these encounters we may find that in the early stages of our leadership journey we fail to maintain control.
Why do we hand over the control of our own mind and our own emotions to others so easily? Do we think that through retaliation we might stop the bombardment? Of course this has been engrained in us since we were young. The competitive spirit has lost its course in our culture. We find destructiveness where we once found opportunities for improvement. Why the shift? Who gains if we are all kept from working together? It is sometimes overwhelming, the ridicule in our society. What if we took a different approach, one that places mutual respect and mutual benefit at its foundation? Instead of condemning others in attempts to 'one-up' them, why not really try to understand their point of view?
We may find that by humbling our own self to listen to an adversary's process of reasoning we might learn a thing or two. All parties are likely to grow when we ask the question why or how in an attempt to trace the path of reason. The one grows in the root of their ideas while the other grows in understanding the philosophy of the companion. Should we not at least have enough respect for one another to seek out the root of a perspective? In any case who wants to be ridiculed? Who would like to step up first for a dose of public humiliation? Do we enjoy those times in the presence of our peers when the boss tells us we have made a horrible decision? It is imperative to consider the outcomes of these interactions. What can be won? What will we gain? How will the relationship grow by pointing out the faults of others? Truly consider this now.
Of his success Benjamin Franklin was once quoted, "I will speak ill of no man, and speak all of the good I know of everybody." Does this mean that we should not challenge the opinions of others? Absolutely not. As leaders we must encourage constructive conflict. We destroy teams when ideas are condemned outright. When we fail to seek to understand ideas first so that we may offer improvements we become destructive. How can the team accept our suggestions if we fail to give respect to others? We do nothing in this case but place another barrier in the way of success, harmony, and teamwork. We fertilize discontent. We water despise. We gain nothing and lose everything. The emphasis on the faults of others is a destructor in all relationships.
Copyright © Robert Clinton Chedester 2012
Why do we hand over the control of our own mind and our own emotions to others so easily? Do we think that through retaliation we might stop the bombardment? Of course this has been engrained in us since we were young. The competitive spirit has lost its course in our culture. We find destructiveness where we once found opportunities for improvement. Why the shift? Who gains if we are all kept from working together? It is sometimes overwhelming, the ridicule in our society. What if we took a different approach, one that places mutual respect and mutual benefit at its foundation? Instead of condemning others in attempts to 'one-up' them, why not really try to understand their point of view?
We may find that by humbling our own self to listen to an adversary's process of reasoning we might learn a thing or two. All parties are likely to grow when we ask the question why or how in an attempt to trace the path of reason. The one grows in the root of their ideas while the other grows in understanding the philosophy of the companion. Should we not at least have enough respect for one another to seek out the root of a perspective? In any case who wants to be ridiculed? Who would like to step up first for a dose of public humiliation? Do we enjoy those times in the presence of our peers when the boss tells us we have made a horrible decision? It is imperative to consider the outcomes of these interactions. What can be won? What will we gain? How will the relationship grow by pointing out the faults of others? Truly consider this now.
Of his success Benjamin Franklin was once quoted, "I will speak ill of no man, and speak all of the good I know of everybody." Does this mean that we should not challenge the opinions of others? Absolutely not. As leaders we must encourage constructive conflict. We destroy teams when ideas are condemned outright. When we fail to seek to understand ideas first so that we may offer improvements we become destructive. How can the team accept our suggestions if we fail to give respect to others? We do nothing in this case but place another barrier in the way of success, harmony, and teamwork. We fertilize discontent. We water despise. We gain nothing and lose everything. The emphasis on the faults of others is a destructor in all relationships.
Copyright © Robert Clinton Chedester 2012