In 2008, my creative mother gave my brothers and me a branding iron. This brand came in a nice wooden box and it was crafted in the shape of our initials. Accompanying this wonderful gift was a letter. It encouraged us to leave our mark on something or someone, to do something that would leave the world a better place than we found it.
We are now over a week into 2012 and many of us may have made resolutions to better ourselves. These resolutions may have come in the form of goals intended to improve our physical appearance, emotional state, mental abilities, or professional status. These goals are all important and I have set some of my own in these areas. But life is short and in light of some recent events, I have given myself to serious contemplation about how the goals and priorities we set may influence the lives of those people around us – our family, co-workers, and community.
Family
Firstly, I am going to focus on family. I love and value my family, but they are often the ones that get neglected while I am working at pursuing my goals and ambitions. We must make the conscious choice to cherish our family. They may infuriate you and drive you to despair, but they are the only family you have. Learn to get along and support each other. If you can do this, even when you do not see eye to eye, you will learn a lot about being mature and this will help you in your relationship with others. In many cultures, the family group includes children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. This is something that has been lost to great extent in Western cultures. Although they still exist, the break down of the nuclear family has cost us a great deal. Let us not be afraid to look to other cultures for the lessons they might be able to teach us about the importance of family.
Workplace
Secondly, we spend most of our lives working with others. At work it is easy to focus on our job responsibilities and career advancement. For those that are goal oriented, this sometimes means that we focus on our careers at the expense of others. If making someone else look bad makes us look good it is just the price we pay to get ahead. You may work for a terrible boss or (if we are honest with ourselves) we may admit that we are terrible bosses. For those in this category it is not too late to learn the ‘soft’ skills required to be a good manager or boss. If you are a manager you have within your power and influence the ability to make the lives of your employees wonderful or miserable. It is easy to make our employees lives miserable. All it takes is for us to decide that we want things done our way. A 2009 survey conducted by the Ministry of Economic Development found that New Zealand had some of the worst managers in the world. This is not good news for our employees who we depend on to get things done. Improving workplace culture is almost solely in the hands of the management. But making these changes often means that the manager has to learn and adapt. In 2012 I plan to focus on helping the people I work with to perform to their fullest potential. This may mean that I have to get out of the way.
Community
Finally, there is room for me to reach out to others. I have always had a passion for politics and community service. My view of politics has always been altruistic – people making personal sacrifices in order to serve the greater good. Unfortunately this is not what politics is like. As with all things there are exceptions to every rule, but it seems that in many cases politicians focus on what they can get out from their position and influence. In contrast, community service is something entirely different. Community service is about helping others, being dedicated to local causes that help local people. These acts of service usually go unnoticed and unrecognized by the wider world. But that doesn’t seem to matter to those involved. They seem content to do what they love to do all while helping others. If you are not already involved in your community, consider in what ways you can get involved in 2012 to be a positive influence.
A positive influence
We are now over a week into 2012 and many of us may have made resolutions to better ourselves. These resolutions may have come in the form of goals intended to improve our physical appearance, emotional state, mental abilities, or professional status. These goals are all important and I have set some of my own in these areas. But life is short and in light of some recent events, I have given myself to serious contemplation about how the goals and priorities we set may influence the lives of those people around us – our family, co-workers, and community.
Family
Firstly, I am going to focus on family. I love and value my family, but they are often the ones that get neglected while I am working at pursuing my goals and ambitions. We must make the conscious choice to cherish our family. They may infuriate you and drive you to despair, but they are the only family you have. Learn to get along and support each other. If you can do this, even when you do not see eye to eye, you will learn a lot about being mature and this will help you in your relationship with others. In many cultures, the family group includes children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. This is something that has been lost to great extent in Western cultures. Although they still exist, the break down of the nuclear family has cost us a great deal. Let us not be afraid to look to other cultures for the lessons they might be able to teach us about the importance of family.
Workplace
Secondly, we spend most of our lives working with others. At work it is easy to focus on our job responsibilities and career advancement. For those that are goal oriented, this sometimes means that we focus on our careers at the expense of others. If making someone else look bad makes us look good it is just the price we pay to get ahead. You may work for a terrible boss or (if we are honest with ourselves) we may admit that we are terrible bosses. For those in this category it is not too late to learn the ‘soft’ skills required to be a good manager or boss. If you are a manager you have within your power and influence the ability to make the lives of your employees wonderful or miserable. It is easy to make our employees lives miserable. All it takes is for us to decide that we want things done our way. A 2009 survey conducted by the Ministry of Economic Development found that New Zealand had some of the worst managers in the world. This is not good news for our employees who we depend on to get things done. Improving workplace culture is almost solely in the hands of the management. But making these changes often means that the manager has to learn and adapt. In 2012 I plan to focus on helping the people I work with to perform to their fullest potential. This may mean that I have to get out of the way.
Community
Finally, there is room for me to reach out to others. I have always had a passion for politics and community service. My view of politics has always been altruistic – people making personal sacrifices in order to serve the greater good. Unfortunately this is not what politics is like. As with all things there are exceptions to every rule, but it seems that in many cases politicians focus on what they can get out from their position and influence. In contrast, community service is something entirely different. Community service is about helping others, being dedicated to local causes that help local people. These acts of service usually go unnoticed and unrecognized by the wider world. But that doesn’t seem to matter to those involved. They seem content to do what they love to do all while helping others. If you are not already involved in your community, consider in what ways you can get involved in 2012 to be a positive influence.
Further Reading
Coleman, J., & George, B. (2011, December 30). Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders. HBR Blog Network. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/five_resolutions_for_aspiring.html?cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-leadership-_-leadership010512&referral=00206&utm_source=newsletter_leadership&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=leadership010512
Hart, S. (2011, October 15). Management training below par. NZ Herald. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10759111
Daily Mail. (2012, January 3). Why natural leaders make bad bosses. NZ Herald. Retrieved January 8, 2012, from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10776492
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