What problem are we trying to solve?

What problem are we trying to solve?

My former manager asked me this on Thursday. It was in response to the new Public Service Performance Management Agreements, but I think the question applies to what is going on in government and in business. The problem we seem to be trying to solve is perceived apathy- whether it is voter apathy or a workforce that has disengaged, we want people to connect to the systems that they are working within. The funny thing is that people are doing lots and sometimes even more, but yet feel disassociated from the rewards of contributing.

Young people and immigrants (who typically don’t vote) are very active in activities that we would consider to be reflections of engagement- participation in community groups, volunteering, social media, We Day ect. yet they remain hesitant to engage in the formal processes and roles in democracy.

Public servants who are constantly asked to do more with less, have jokes and derision heaped upon them in the media and social media are in fact doing really great jobs delivering service. My road was plowed this morning, even though nasty things are being said about public works budget and management in our local paper.

In the private sector employees still show up at Blackberry and work hard at making it work even though job losses are always looming in the background. The same was true of Nortel when it was in its dying throws.

So what is going on? I think it is that deep down everyone cares about the contribution they are making. No matter what, on some level just saying “to hell with it” isn’t an option. So people work outside and around systems because in the end it is the systems that are broken not the people.

Doing nothing and enjoying it!

 

There is an irony that everyone wants more leisure time and then in the limited leisure time they have they keep themselves ridiculously busy. As a self-professed introvert I am perfectly happy to be by myself doing nothing. The frenetic energy of others doesn’t faze me anymore, however it used to.

I used to feel the need to keep up, to hyper-engage, to fill every moment… and then I realized it made me unhappy and resentful. The ability to be quiet and to enjoy the quiet is being lost (and devalued) in a constantly connected world. Once I began to say no to the dinner invitations, play dates, candle parties and workout sessions a magical thing happened- I reclaimed my life.

It was not always easy to say no. A friend of mine gave me a mantra I now repeat “Nothing to justify, nothing to defend.” When saying no we often feel we need to defend the no. “I can’t go because….” In reality there is no such need to justify why you are not participating. You have the right to simply opt out.

Warning- an interesting thing happens when you do this, you find your true friends. A true friend accepts a no for what it is, a declination of an event, not of them. However others see this as an affront to them, you choosing anything over them is unacceptable. Then they try to make you feel guilty or small. These encounters offer an opportunity for reflection; now that you have carved out some time. Maybe they are just having a bad day, or maybe if you really reflect on it, this person always needs to be in control of the agenda, of you. Eventually, by spending the time to reflect, you will start to see yourself and the relationships in your life as they are, not as you imagine them to be as you whiz through life.  

To learn about yourself and others you need to step away, to get outside of your normal. This is why most training sessions happen outside of your work place. We want to create a new environment where there are no distractions. So think of doing nothing as a life class, where you get away from the distractions, so you can learn something new. What better investment of your time could you make?