Thursday, June 27, 2013

Ponderings #48

Dear fellow travelers,
   I trust you are staying cool,  this is far from my winter blues!!  Thank you so much for your interest and your comments.
 
   I have been going thru some old papers and came a cross an old work picture which brought back some memories.
  I recalled an event that happened many years ago, when I supervised an office force in an Engineering Dept that was responsible for many various job functions that needed to flow, like a well oiled machine to meet its deadlines. 
  This particular incident began one day when I overhead a gal who was being transferred into my department saying,  "I'm NOT going to work for that _____________"
and it wasn't a compliment!!!  But mirroring her thoughts,  I wasn't really happy about her either,  She had a reputation for being lazy, unfocused, and as you can tell didn't have a great attitude.  Not my cup of tea!!
  When I received her employment records, her test scores ranked above average!
  Well now....how about that....
 
  I decided to turn lemons into lemonade, as the saying goes.
  I asked myself when did I do a good job??  When did I want to do a good job??
  Being work oriented, I always liked to do my best,  but then I dug further.....
   I felt really Good when I felt Empowered, Creative, Respected and Heard.
   Just maybe these where her feel good buttons also.
 
  Using these guidelines during our first meeting, I was honest with her and told her I had heard that she wasn't happy with the change,  and I also had some reservations.
But I knew she was capable of doing a good job.  I told her I was giving her complete control over an important segment of the operation. I had Faith in her capabilities, She could change it, to make it work any way she choose.  But it had to be done accurately and on time.  I knew she could do it,  and I would assist her if she asked me.  but would be hers....I would trust her  decisions.
Was she willing to do it?    YES.....  and then we made lemonade.
 
We worked together for quite a few years and we grew to have a mutual respect for each other.
 
Now, is there someone in your life,  that needs a little encouragement??
Needs to feel and be appreciated and respected?
 
Just pondering on lemonade
 
Rev Linda Patton  ENTC

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