Photo by Matte

…is the one you tell yourself every time you work a second of overtime or don’t look for another opportunity when the one you’re in is circling the drain.  While the fact may be, the reality is that salaried workers don’t come together in the workplace in a way that’s transactional.  That’s to say, they form ongoing relationships.  The work is based on larger objectives.  People arrive every day and work towards a larger goal.  Moreover, organizations encourage them to participate in a way that makes them a part of the greater good.  The brain can’t keep “this could be gone tomorrow” and contribute meaningfully at the same time.  Why else do people work overtime in an age that doesn’t provide comp days, overtime, promotions or bonuses?  It’s because they get something out of it that isn’t monetary.

Photo by David Sim

Recently, here in Dallas, TX, there was an enormous controversy over the firing of a basketball coach. This coach worked for The Convent School, a local Christian academy, and under his tenure, the team made its first “final four” appearance in its history.  You may have heard about it; the story went national after the Dallas Morning News reported on the 100-0 drubbing of the Dallas Academy’s girls basketball team.

Yesterday, we examined our four camps of conflict:

• Camp A believes very strongly in their point of view.
• Camp B believes very strongly in their point of view.
• Camp C is completely disengaged and isn’t participating in the discussion but plans to quietly sabotage any change efforts through lethargy.
• Camp D can see both sides and refuses to take a stand one way of the other.