“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
I’m currently reading The One Minute Entrepreneur, The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business by Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson And Ethan Willis.
There was a chapter that really hit home. In this chapter, the authors quote Wayne W. Dyer, “You’ll See It When You Believe It: The Way to Your Personal Transformation“:
“If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself… Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Do not be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd”
We’ve all encountered ducks in our lives. Ducks are people who constantly complain, but never take initiative to change what they see as wrong. Chances are, you may even be a duck yourself at times.
Common Duck Sayings (or You Might Be a Duck if You Say):
- “It’s not my department”
- “That’s not in my job description”
- “It’s our policy”
- “I don’t make the rules”
- “I’m just following orders”
- “I just work here”
- “You need to talk to my supervisor”
- “I didn’t get what I needed from ___” (it may be true, but a duck will throw up his hands in defeat and leave it at that.)
- “My boss is an idiot” (you’re boss may indeed be an idiot (mine is) but it should not keep you from succeeding.)
Ducks act like victims. Don’t be a duck, be an eagle.
If you’re a manager, don’t be a mallard – be an eagle. Empower your people to be eagles. Let them make decisions, and have more control in their day to day tasks. Your workers will be happier – and so will your customers!
If you’re interested in learning more, I encourage you to investigate the concept of Servant Leadership.
You might also check out 5 Ways to Identify Whiners and Winners at successsoul
Why This Hit Home For Me.
I didn’t realize until recently but the managers I’ve most respected and had the most success working with were servant leaders. Sadly, my current boss is more of an absentee, seagull boss. He is AWOL 90% of the time and at the end of a project or at review time he has a litany of items I have performed “below expectations” on.
This used to bother me. A lot. But then I realized 2 things:
1). None of my 6 previous managers ever said I was a sub-standard employee. (Why was this?)
2). I had become a duck.
The significance of #1 is that either my 6 previous managers were clueless, or my current boss is clueless. I realized that it was most likely the latter since my 6 previous bosses were highly involved in my projects – in a good way. They made it their priority to facilitate my work day. If I needed something from a different department but wasn’t getting anywhere with my inquiries, they would speak to the manager of said department and ensure I had what I needed to succeed. In short, they worked with me to provide me what I needed to achieve success. As a result, we all won. They also worked closely with me and were in a position to know if I was a sub-standard employee.
The significance of #2 is that while I can’t change my manager’s behavior, I can change my own. I decided that if my boss was going to be absent 90% of the time anyway, I would do things myself. I realized it was better to beg forgiveness, than ask for permission – especially since my boss would never get around to actually granting me permission, but would castigate me for never taking action anyway. I would eliminate him from my standard workday. Essentially, I just got pissed off at being held accountable for the failings of others, and decided to be proactive. I became a manager of others, despite the current managerial hierarchy. I feel confident this will pay off in the end. If not at this job, then at the next as it will only make me better in my field.
Eagle photo by Vivek Chugh
Ducks photo by Debbie Wogen
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