I have recently come to the realization that my expectations of others are too high. It kind of popped in my head at an interview just over 6 months ago when asked about my weakness. That was the answer I gave. I got the job and my boss and I seem to be a good fit for each other. Which is a good thing. Though I think I had been thinking of the concept for awhile.
What I mean my that is that I expect others to perform at least close to as well as I do or even some people and friends I've worked with and respect their work ethic. I expect them to care about doing a good job as much as I do. I expect a reasonable thought process for every decision they make. The problem comes in here since reasonable is as defined by me, not them. This applies to all parts of life, not just work, though since I spend so much time at work, this is probably where people don't meet my expectations the most since they have numerous opportunities to let me down.
I know I'm not alone in this, but what am I to do? Lower my standards for myself, so that my standards for others will be lowered? I also expect that people will want to better themselves and their skills (this may not apply to all lines of work which I have no problem with) to advance their careers, when they may be perfectly happy doing the same job for the last 10 years and for the next 20, getting only a cost of living increase if they are lucky. Doesn't matter, I can't understand that mindset or that choice. However what I do know is that it makes things easier for those of that are ambitious enough to climb the ladder. Less competition + consistently higher performance = a dang good chance of promotions, raises, and respect. Even though some people see it as more headaches. I get that, it's a headache dealing with people that don't care about their jobs as much as you do and not knowing what to do to motivate them. I guess that's the challenge the higher you climb.
What's awkward about it, is not know what to do about it if anything. In an ideal world, I'd get rid of the sub-par and bring in those that excel. But it is possible that people can excel in the same job for 10 years. You want good competent people surrounding you, but reality doesn't always allow for this. Another awkward thing about this is that I don't know if this makes me a bad person or not. I don't think it does, but perhaps some aspects of this do.
4 comments:
Doesn't make you a bad person at all, it makes you normal.
It's difficult to deal with mediocrity when your expectations are high.
Good Luck, and nice post
Thanks and thanks...mediocrity is a great word to describe it!
hope you come back!
I know exactly how you feel, but I think most people feel that.
The problem is that we can't read anyone else's mind but our own, as well as personal bias. When you do something stupid you write it off as an anomaly, but when they do it means they care less for their job.
I have always felt a bit out of place in the world, like everyone else in my age group is always a step behind me. This doesn't mean it is true though. In reality I have a lot of faith in the people around me, and I've always been able to rely on the fact that most people are good people.
I'd also like to say that I believe the people of today are easily the smartest in human history (all the way from the poor to the rich), so if you judge them based on any the standards of history (in any way), then they come out way on top, which gives me hope for the future.
Thank you for this post. It really helped me today.
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