[Ansteorra] RE: Politics done right (was: The real problem . . .Officers)
james at crouchet.com
james at crouchet.com
Mon May 1 21:58:18 PDT 2006
I would be honored.
Christian Doré
On 1 May 2006 at 23:45, Faelan Caimbeul wrote:
> 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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