I’m sitting here contemplating the half marathon I have on Sunday. I, once again, have not really done enough training to make this a comfortable experience. I feel that this is a strong pattern in my life that I may need to address.
It’s not just in the physical events this has presented itself in other areas of my life such as school (when I was younger) where I seemed to do the bare minimum to get results.
Looking back now I know I could have done so much better with my education and possibly my career choices, as I grew up, if I’d put more effort in.
It’s not that I am lazy, or mega talented that I don’t have to put the effort in, but I seemed to get by. This is not a strategy that I would like my children to use and, as a parent, I am always saying “Try your best, put 100% effort in”
The problem is that I am role modelling something different and doing alright. I’m not setting the world alight and things are good, so, I suppose, it’s all about what you want in life that counts. I love being at home and spending time here but I also love doing the work that I do and, of course, I need to pay the bills, go on holiday, run the cars etc…
This is not the same for everyone. I meet people who are running large organisations, constantly chasing numbers, working hard and making a difference at work, and I really admire their focus and determination. They are going places and are successful, they earn more than me, drive nicer cars than me and have amazing holidays – they deserve it, they work hard.
I like the idea that everyone is different but I can imagine that, if you manage a team of people or work with colleagues, this can be a source of frustration and possible conflict. If I want to go home at 5pm and you stay until 6:30pm and we get paid the same money or if I take my hour for lunch and you eat yours at your desk, whilst answering emails. Everyone is motivated by different things which is why we all follow our own, different, personal, rules.
Problems could arise, however, if there are clashes with our rules, resulting in differences with our motivation to do what we do. It’s so complex, how do you manage a big team of individuals and align effort?
In team sports, they do something called contracting (see the Sky example above, click here for short ‘fun’ video). This is an agreement of how we work together and what we expect from each other – it’s our ‘charter’. Everyone has an input and agrees the final document and then we are all accountable to follow the rules.
Have you done this with the people you work with? How about at home with the family? I know it sounds a bit formal but you can have fun as well and it surfaces concerns, worries, objectives and individual motivation.
If it works for you, it could reduce conflicts, bad feeling, HR issues, interpersonal grievances, and attrition, maybe even family conflicts – who knows what else!