THE NUGGET
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background or his religion, people must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the humans heart than its opposite.
– Nelson Mandela
EAT- IN
It’s easier said than done. Whose merit, and who merits what? Focus on a situation in which you have to judge your good friend for wrongful act. Can you divorce your feelings about him or her? It is sometimes impossible to divorce our feelings about someone, whether we like or dislike the person, from how we view their actions.
The unavoidable tendency is to notice only the good things about people we like, and the bad things about those we care less about. This is unavoidable human behavior although most of us sometimes want others to feel that we are totally free from subjectivity. In fact it is not possible (and perhaps not good) to be not guided by subjective minds. It is both natural and human to have friends and protect their interests.
A good leader, however, knows where to draw the line between friendship and business relations. As the Chinese would say, “The first time it is a favour, the second, a habit”. If you do not draw the line, and do so quickly, you risk destroying your sense of leadership and losing a work group as a result of protecting a friend.
Members of a work team want to be treated equally. They abhor clear injustice. Discrimination and favoritism can be fatal to the smooth running of an organization. It is clear that a manager cannot like everyone equally, but it is equally clear that open discrimination is bad for the morale of workers.
Determine the standard and reward or punish accordingly. This is the only way to protect both your dignity as a leader and the morale of your staff. It is important to maintain your objectivity with all your employees. Let them know that you conduct your business on a highly professional manner and that they are all treated equally.
TAKE AWAY
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.
– John wesley
