Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Entitlement
There's plenty to be said about this topic and the trouble it causes, but I've been confronted by overwhelming doses of it from a particular group of users at work. I would categorize it as a "How dare you tell me to..." approach to policy. People have rights, and beyond that priveleges, but some feel that their right to demand extends beyond this into areas of other's responsibilities.
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5 comments:
Entitlement bothers me too, but this situation is different to me. There is a group at my work that I rely on. It is their responsibility to cater to me, so I can meet my objectives. While I don't understand everything involved in what they do, I am able to recognize when they have been incompetent or inefficient. For me to meet my objectives, I can't spend time doing their job or cleaning up after them, so I tell them to make it happen. It's part of being a leader and you can do it in a loving way. On the other side (your side for instance), clear communication and creation of clear processes creates your best chance of success. Both parties involved need to put themselves in one another's shoes.
I think you've misunderstood the situation. It has more to do with the merging of two cultures and the resistance to change that often occurs in such situations.
PS The tone of your comment strikes me as patronizing. Re-reading it, can you see that?
I do agree that it's a valuable experience to put oneself in another's shoes.
Caleigh is on target with the point I was getting at. This is not about any party performing inferior work. It's about a self-centered and ungracious attitude toward any level of inconvenience that is brought about by change.
It also has nothing inherently to do with position or leadership, but self-entitled individuals who hold leadership positions are likely to make a stink about things they don't like.
I agree that clear processes are necessary for success in technical initiatives, but they not sufficient. Excellent work, excellent software, and excellent training combined with a self-centered, change-resistant culture yield a painful implementation.
Today, I visited your blog again for the first time in a while and noticed your replies to my comments, so I figured I would respond. In this comment, I never mentioned anything about someone being inferior. In fact, the people I was thinking of when I wrote the comment are above me in the corporate hierarchy. Our working relationship is reciprocal. They do things to cater to my objectives and vice versa. One of my points was to highlight the importance of both parties working together to achieve the objective of the organization ( improved efficiency). I never say the phrase “make it happen”. I try to create a reason for them to want to make it happen (leadership), which I am still learning how to do. It’s kind of like a marriage. They work hard to make you more efficient and you work hard to make them more efficient. The challenge is when they are not doing their part and act like they shouldn’t have to.
I totally agree that it is challenging to work with change-resistant folks, but it is also an opportunity to change a culture and make a difference. I think it takes small wins and humility (leadership). I think I experience some very similar things in my role, so it might be interesting to chat some more off the blog.
To answer Caleigh's question; there is nothing patronizing about my comment or the thoughts that went into it.
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