In The Face of Apathy

I’ve been through enough therapy to know this one thing:  I can’t change anyone but myself.

The thing is, though, I’m in the running for a manager position at work, where I’d be directly responsible for the behavior and performance of between fifteen and twenty other individuals.  And the question that has been posed to me, the question that I’ve been pondering for the last few days, is this:  what could I possibly do to get someone to perform better at their job?

My mind is constantly drawing connections between all things, related or not, so naturally this question of how to manage people at work reminded me of the President’s speech to school children a few weeks ago.  The gist of his message, the one nugget that I honed in on, anyway, was simply that even if someone could wave a magic wand and eliminate all external factors that impact the ability of our schools to function properly, none of that would matter if the kids themselves don’t take responsibility for their role in the job of educating themselves.

The same thing is true at work.  We could fix every technical challenge that impedes our ability to do our work well, eliminate all financial constraints to our operations, for example, and still none of that would matter if we, the people who do the work, don’t hold up our end of the bargain.

So, sure, as a manager there would be things that I could do to increase the odds that my team would be successful, but ultimately, it comes down, I think, to a matter of character.  Do you, or do you not, care?  Is there some fire inside of you, some internal drive, that motivates you to want to do well, to continue to want to do well?  Because if it’s there, then we’re good.  If not… well, then what?  I can’t make you care, right?  Then we’re all just clocking in and out each day going through the motions.  And what can I, what can anyone, do with that?

image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicecupoftea/