Seth Godin wrote today of Low Esteem and the Factory, of how many companies are still looking for employees they can categorize, command and dominate. He writes:
If you want to raise your game and build an organization filled with people who will change everything, the first thing to look for is someone who hasn’t been brainwashed into believing that they’re not capable of great work.
I’ve worked with both the categorized, commanded and dominated and with those who believe they are capable of great work. I’ve found both groups easy to understand and interact with while driving change.
The group that seems to give me the most trouble are those who’ve seen others doing great work, want to do great work themselves, but struggle with the journey to a place of confidence. They’ll stick their hands up and volunteer for an exciting project, then linger along the edges of the meeting room, not wanting to push to the front too quickly. They’ll wait weeks to ask a question, I’m assuming for fear of looking foolish for needing to ask. I think they look foolish for wasting weeks on needless worry; so I tell them not to wait next time and nothing they ask is foolish.
To all of you reading this who are in that journeying middle–and really this goes out to anyone reading this blog–read Linchpin by Seth Godin. Learn about art, the resistance and why you have an unprecedented opportunity to bring all of yourself to your work, to live your art and to be magnificent.
You can do great work.
You will do great work.
Why not try?
