What Other People Think Revisited
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Jan 7, 2011
About 2 1/2 years ago I wrote a post titled What Other People Think that talked about my wife and things she was going through at the time. It also talked about her going to a Jack Canfield presentation and hearing some things he had to say that worked for her at the time.
I'm revisiting that post because over the past couple of weeks, we've been talking about why people seem to have problems getting out of situations that they know are bad for them, and everyone else knows is bad for them as well. For instance, needing to be in a relationship that is tearing them down emotionally for whatever reason they feel they need to remain in.
I've thought about the Jack Canfield line that my wife heard that day (you'll have to visit the other post to see it; I know, not fair) and how true it was. However, I've also thought that it's not always true. After all, there are some people who need to care what others think about them, most specifically employers and the relationship they have with their employees.
If your employees don't like you, your business is in trouble. If your employees don't like whomever else they're supposed to report to, your business is in trouble. We live in a world where people will definitely try to get even because someone treated them inappropriately, and you never know how that will manifest. If you have the type of personality where you're abusive in some fashion, you can bet you're just biding your time until it all comes back on you.
Think about it; even CEOs have been fired for how they treat people, based on the premise that they're not representing the values of the organization. If managers don't learn how to handle themselves appropriately, they could risk losing their jobs and their reputation. Who wants to go through that?
So, it seems there are times when one should worry about what other people think. How do you evaluate it? We'll have to address that one at another time. I'll ask the same question to you, though; how will you evaluate it?
I see both sides. I have been in situations, that at the time of being in the middle of them, were hard to see a way out. But I also have a hard time understanding how people stay in really awful situations for extended periods of time. My example was not awful, just more unpleasant and obnoxious.
I think when in difficult situations, whether personal or at work, everyone needs to take themselves out of it to see what else is out there. There are always options and choices, you just have to make one and go for it with no fear.
Great points, Sarah. Overall, I tend to believe that those people in leadership who spend even a little bit of time thinking about their performance as it regards interacting with others are probably doing much better than those who only react and never think about their actions. I’d have to say that for the most part I’ve been lucky enough to not have to deal with issues such as these, and yet I can also see how easy it could be for some to fall into the trap. There are times when we really do have to think about how others perceive us, without overdoing it; after all, in the end we still have a job to do.