|
|
|
 Steve Farber
Sometimes, when your co-worker doesn't care about his or her work, and acts (or doesn't act) accordingly, they don't realize that their lackluster or apathetic behavior is having a negative effect on you, personally.
The first step, then, is to approach the person directly, honestly, and diplomatically, and explain how you're being impacted by his or her behavior. Many times, that one-to-one, colleague-to-colleague appeal will do the trick. On the other hand, you may discover that not only do they not care about (or even dislike) the company, they don't care about you either. Hard to believe, I know. But if that's true, ask yourself this fundamental leadership question (actually, it's a good one to ask in any case):
"What can I do-regardless of what anyone else around here (especially that difficult co-worker) is or is not doing-to improve the quality of the work experience for me and my customers?" Your taking action in response to that question puts you in a position of personal accountability-an experience that no one can take away from you. Don't be surprised if you come to realize that your co-worker's behaviors and attitudes are inconsequential after all.
About Steve:
An expert in business management and leadership and a frequent guest on news-talk shows around the country, Steve is a senior-level leadership coach, consultant an d speaker who presents 90 to 100 times a year to a wide variety of public and private organizations in virtually every arena.
More about Steve Farber |
|
Bill Benjamin
So you are working with someone who is not very motivated and does the minimum needed to keep their job. That's frustrating, but what can you do?
The main advice I would give is to focus on the things you can control. We have a habit of focusing on - and getting frustrated by - things we can't control. In a case like this, most of us would spend time trying to get the other person motivated, or explain to them why they should be doing more than they are. But can you really control how another person acts?
So what can you control in this situation? You always have control of your response. You can decide that this person won't affect your attitude. You can decide that you will give 110% even if this person is only giving 80% (that will make you stand out by the way). You can even decide to give the person feedback.
Whatever the case, make sure you are focusing on what you can control - the most important of which is your own attitude and response. As Charles Schwindoll Says: "Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond."
About Bill:
Bill Benjamin is the CEO of the Institute for Health and Human Potential (IHHP), contributing to its status as a world leader in the exciting fields of Leadership, Performance and Emotional Intelligence (EI)
|
|
 Dan Coughlin
Achieving success is not our greatest business challenge. The greatest business challenge we are facing right now is to sustain success. Sustaining success over the long term needs to be the focus of every individual, group, and organization in the world-wide business environment. Having co-workers who do not care about their work goes a long way to undermining any chance you might have at sustaining success.
The type of passion you need to sustain success is critically important to maintain. There are only three ways to keep your professional fire lit: love what you do, love who you do it for, or both. If you have a co-worker whose professional passion is diminished, ask the person these types of questions:
What is it about your work that you love doing?
Who are you working to earn money for and what do you love about them?
If the person can't find an answer to either of these two questions, you are in a position to say, "It sounds like you may need to look for something else to do with your career. If you work 40 hours a week for 50 weeks, that's 2000 hours. If you work for 40 years, that's 80,000 hours that you are doing something that you are not passionate about. Why not find work that you love doing or focus on the people you are working to support?
About Dan:
Author of four leadership books, Dan Coughlin is one of America's most practical business teachers. He maintains a laser focus on leadership, sales, innovation and branding because they share one simple performance concept: think and influence how other people think.
More about Dan Coughlin |
|
|
|
|
Looking for Ideas?
Looking for speaker ideas to jumpstart
the planning process? Take a minute to visit our Idea Generator and receive a
set of suggestions customized to your industry, organization, and
audience. |
|
