[SPAM][Ansteorra] Politics done right (was: The real problem . . .Officers)

[Faelan Caimbeul]

Very well said, Your Excellency. Would you mind if I passed this along?

Faelan

-----Original Message-----
From: ansteorra-bounces+faelancaimbeul=gmail.com at ansteorra.org
[mailto:ansteorra-bounces+faelancaimbeul=gmail.com at ansteorra.org] On Behalf
Of james at crouchet.com
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 10:23 PM
To: Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc.
Subject: [SPAM][Ansteorra] Politics done right (was: The real problem . .
.Officers)

On 30 Apr 2006 at 22:50, Elinor Salter wrote:

> Elizabeth Blackthorne wrote:
> > I can tell you why I personally didn't want hold an office:
> > 1.  I don't like playing politics- I'm not interested in doing
> good things as a group so that we are "seen", I just want our group
> to do good things.  I don't care who takes the credit for the good
> things.  I don't want involved in other groups dynamics and
> problems.  I don't want my Opinions to be more than what they are.
> >   
> I'm sorry, milady, but ANY group you become a part of will have its
> share of group politics.

Let me extend on this a bit.

Politics is the art of getting 3 or more people to work for a common goal.
As with most things 
in life, that can be done well or poorly, honestly or with deception. As
much of a cliche as it is, 
your guide is the golden rule. Treat others as you would have them treat you
if your positions 
were reversed. Whether your job is assistant to the site cleanup person or
King, this applies 
equally.

Consider the effects of using guilt as a motivator. We have all seen it
done: "We all agreed 
this should be done but only two of us have actually showed up to do the
work. We had to 
work hours and hours. I gave up time with my family, I missed my daughter's
piano recital 
and before I got home my dog got so hungry he ate the cat. I loved that cat.
(insert sad violin 
music here)."

The problem is that this attempts to motivate people by making them feel
BAD. It works, but 
only in the short term. Soon you will find people are dropping out or at
least staying away 
from you. People avoid activities that make them feel bad and repeat those
that make them 
feel good. They may not even make those decisions on a conscious level, they
just find that 
there are "more important" things they need to be doing.

The answer is to motivate people by making them feel good. For example,
"Lord John, I 
would you be willing to help me count widgits? I think you would be good at
it and we would 
like having you on the crew." That gives Lord John a little ego stroke and
sets the tone for the 
activity to be fun and rewarding. Just be careful that you are honest in
your praise or it will 
come back to bite you.

As you recruit, keep in mind that whatever the activity, it should be fun or
at least satisfying to 
complete. If you project an attitude that says "This is a miserable job that
has to be done," 
those you try to recruit will feel it. And it SHOULD be fun. I have seen
crews having a fun time 
sitting gate, doing privy patrol, picking up the site and washing dishes
after the feast. I was 
recently part of a crew that went to Gulf War to do land cleanup and layout
before the 
campers arrived. That is physically tough work with little glory but the
people who did it this 
year have already volunteered to do it again next year. We enjoyed our task
for no good 
reason save the company of our fellows and the satisfaction of a job well
done. That is the 
result of politics done right.

So don't deceive anyone, make the tasks fun, don't use guilt to recruit,
recognize the 
contributions of others afterward, listen to what your people have to say,
don't hog the best 
tasks or the glory, and in general, treat them as you would like to be
treated. If you can do 
politics that way you will be a good leader and YOU will have more fun.

One final bit of advice, only sort of related: don't volunteer for more than
you can do and don't 
volunteer your crew for more than they can do. Better 2 tasks well done than
4 done poorly.

Baron Christian Doré



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