Your attitude counts
Your attitude is your concern, but remember it is not your concern alone. Though the statement sounds paradoxical, it is true.
You are in a bad mood
It is a dull day for you. You have a difference of opinion with your wife on an issue and there is a cold war at home. You are tired too. You don’t feel like going to the office. Just because you have a meeting and some urgent work to do, you decide to go.
You reach the office and enter your cabin. There is a waste paper on the floor. You call up the office boy and shout at him for not cleaning the room (he had cleaned the room and the paper might have fallen down later from the table). You had asked the receptionist to connect you to the head office and she is not able to do it since the line is busy. You hold her guilty for not obeying you. Your stenographer has drafted a letter and she has missed a comma in it. You throw it at her and ask her to do the work again. At the meeting your subordinates submit reports of the work done during the month and you find fault with all of them (actually many of them had performed very well).
What is wrong?
What actually went wrong? You are angry with everyone. You were not feeling comfortable with yourself and so you could not be comfortable with others. It is your fault alone. You are not concerned about those around you. You behave the way you feel like, though it is not fair.
Is it justifiable?
Is this sort of an attitude justifiable? Of course it is not. Your attitude is your concern. But remember it is not your concern alone. Though the statement sounds paradoxical, it is true. You had some difference of opinion with your wife and you were tired too. So you are in a bad mood. That is your concern. Since you were in a negative mood, you shouted at the office boy, receptionist, stenographer and your subordinates. Now your attitude becomes their concern also.
The after effects
Now let us see what are the after effects of this sort of an attitude. You cannot be productive and creative. Your arrogant attitude, expressed in terms of anger towards your employees, dampens their spirit too. They too lose motivation and cannot be productive. In effect it will be a huge loss to your organization.
Your relationships in the workplace are also strained. Always remember, it is very easy to strain relationships, while it is very difficult to build it up. Your ability to maintain good relationships is very important in the workplace. It is as important as your skills and knowledge. It helps you gain a competitive edge over your colleagues.
What to do?
So now you know that your attitude is not your concern alone. If you have to be successful in your job, you should be a good manager. You have to manage the resources, time, and energy. In the same way you have to manage your attitude also.
So let us see what all can be done to ensure that your attitude does not affect your work and work place relationships.
