Difficult to See

Emily nodded. “I think I am ready.” We were talking about her dissatisfaction with the way things were going for her as a manager. Not that they were going badly.

“Sometimes, I think I have to force things,” she said. “And forcing things doesn’t last long. I want to know how I can get people to perform, to perform at a higher level.”

“You want to know how you can cause people to change?”

“Yes, that’s it. Exactly. How can I get people to perform better, to stay focused, to pay attention, heck, just to show up on time would be nice.”

“So, Emily, when you look at yourself, how easy is it for you to make changes about your own life, your own work?”

“I’m not sure what you mean,” she replied. “Things are pretty well with me. For the most part, things are under control.”

“Interesting,” I said. “We think we have the ability to cause change in other people when we have great difficulty seeing the need for change within ourselves.” -TF

2 thoughts on “Difficult to See

  1. kurt

    Hey Tom,

    i’ve attended an enaegram course where i found out lots of things about meself. Make me understand meself better gave me the ability to understand people better.
    To my point of view, making people change, starts with understanding people in the first place.

    Reply
  2. Tom Foster

    Kurt, you are the only person who can create change within yourself. No one, not even your manager can create that change within you. To understand that change, you must first recognize it in yourself.

    Reply

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