I'm finally prompted to say what I think is wrong with "touchy-feely."
Doc Holloway wrote:
>Touchy-feely (what a term this is!) seems to be anathema to many
>people--I suspect a prevalent temperament style in the aversion.
I respectfully suggest there are lots of other good reasons for being
anti.
Personally, I don't for one second doubt the significance of the
emotional, non-rational, frequently unconscious, i.e., human side of every
equation. And I do my damnedest to deal adequately with that side of the
equation.
What I do object to are:
1. Losing sight of what work is all about. The reasons I work and ways I
work have lots to do with touchy-feely issues. But useful work itself is
about real things for real people in the real world, meaning ultimately
things that people are willing to shell out their own money for. (Among
many other things, profit and wealth are not dirty words.)
2. Inappropriate interventions. It took me my whole life to build who I
am, flaws and all. Is that any of an employer's business? Even if it
were, is it likely to change significantly through an employer's
interventions? I don't think so.
3. Power trips. "Touchy feely" is way too often a control move in
disguise and in general an imposition of one set of values on others.
Generations ago, we had holier than thou. Modern one-upsmanship looks
more like opener than thou.
I've been there, done that, and got the hair shirt.
A quick anecdote in closing. In the early 70s my wife and I were involved
in a touchy feely kind of training session. We were doing an exercise in
which you close your eyes, fall backward, and let your co-participants
catch you. The leader of this group grope said this was to help us learn
to be more trusting.
My wife said, "And where is the exercise for people to become more
trustworthy?" Where, indeed?
Cheers
Bill Buxton
"Hey, curmudgeons need love, too."
-Mr. Bill
--"William Buxton" <wbuxton@hns.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>