Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Being Taken Seriously

People wait many years in lots of instances to be taken seriously. It’s like a ‘rites of passage’ issue. I recall turning 30 and thinking, “Great, finally I have experience and I’m still young.” Well, it doesn’t last long -- the experience I retained, but then I got older. Another issue, other than age, regarding being taken seriously, is around gender. How many women are not taken seriously as engineers, or men as beauticians?
s
There was a woman I knew once who’d worked hard to become a tradesperson. She’d done the four year apprenticeship and passed all her examinations, and she was proficient at her craft. That was until she joined a company overloaded with chauvinistic types and only six months later she left the trade, never to return, such was the effect of the bullying she endured! She may’ve lacked resilience, but she was never supported and is probably still haunted psychologically by the experience. Life’s plain not just and fair sometimes.
s
At the core of the issue of being taken seriously is respect. How do we gain respect when dealing with people who demand their own quota of respect? Not by demanding it that’s for sure. We intuitively know only one way to gain respect in this situation.
s
We must be humble. This does not mean submissive. It’s not about being a doormat. It’s quietly going about your business and achieving quietly, doing the little things it takes to win the people over that you want to influence.
s
It often takes time. I know a young lady who started waitressing at a Chinese restaurant and struggled for months trying to gain the respect of the manager. She endured insults and tell-offs. She had the occasional night’s work where she just wanted to quit. She was made to do the tough jobs, and loathed it. But, she didn’t quit. She kept working there two nights a week. Slowly things changed. Now a year on, and she’s since won the respect of this manager, and the rest of the staff. Her manager now has a ‘soft spot’ for her. How did this change occur? Diligence I expect. She did what she could both work-wise and in her relationships at work. She thought not so much of herself, but of others. She was servant-hearted. Most of all, it was the passage of time that allowed the relationships to build and then mature. Loving bonds grew.
s
How do we summarise? Take one day at a time and try and put the negatives behind you. If you focus on what you can do rather than on what you can’t do, you will eventually be taken very seriously.
s
Copyright © 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

No comments: