Rol Fessenden wrote:
> I would love to hear from other managers how they feel and how they work
> with people they do not care for. We all have people we get along with
> extremely well, and others that we do not at all enjoy being around. The
> latter, in my experience, are very difficult to mentor. I find it hard to
> work up the energy, but in addition, we have so many differences in values
> and ways of approaching life, that I simply find it difficult to relate to
> them.
Rol,
First, I'm not entirely clear how you are defining "caring." My first
impulse is to say that I'm not convinced that caring and quality are the
same thing. Nor am I convinced that caring is a prerequisite for working
well with others. In place of the word "caring", I would substitute the
word "respecting". Then I would submit that it is possible to respect the
differences between ourselves and others, even while recognizing that it
is difficult to relate to them.
It is curious...after making these statements, I find myself wanting to
add that I do not consider myself an insensitive or "uncaring"
individual. And then it occurred to me to ask myself: "What does 'caring'
look like? How does it differ from what 'respect' or 'love' looks?" Too
often I have seen the appearances of caring, but have later learned that I
cannot trust these appearances. So back to the original question of what
caring means and, as an extension, why is it important in the workplace?
Kathy Wohlert
--wohlert <wohlert@ibm.net>
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