Attitude
Over the years I have come to value attitude in the people I have worked with above all else. Obviously experience, skills, knowledge, intelligence & qualifications all play their part but without the right attitude they are worthless.
People with the right attitude are "Energisers" who can create a can do attitude in people around them whereas those with the wrong attitude are "Sappers" who drain energy from people around them.
The best tool I have found that helps people to self assess themselves is the concept of winner & loser tapes. When faced with any situation we all have choice - whether we play a winner tape or a loser tape. Good examples of winner & loser tapes are shown in the table below:
A Winner Says: A Loser says: Life is good to me. Nothing ever goes my way. Yes, I will. No I won’t. Yes … perhaps … I’ll see … I’ll find time to do it. How do you expect me to find time to do it? Let’s get to the heart of the matter. Well, it’s difficult to say, exactly … I haven’t expressed myself clearly. You just don’t understand … We have different view on … I’m not changing my mind. I’m OK, but there’s still room for improvement. I’m not as bad as the others. Tell me … I have said again and again … There must be a better way. We’ve always done it this way. Let’s be more flexible. The memo said … Let’s work on a presentation for management. Management will never agree to that. You learn something new every day. What about all my years of experience? Let’s make it work this time. There’s no point in trying again. That sounds exciting. Why keep changing things?
The more people talk and act like a winner the more winner-orientated they become. Just like a favourite song , the more they play it, the more they know about it and the better able they are to hum the tunes and recognise the intros and harmonies.
In every situation individuals can choose whether they play a winner or a loser tape - but winners tapes energise people around them whilst loser tapes sap them.
