What If We Treated People Like John Goethe says?

The poet John Goethe* reportably said, “ If we treated people as if they were already what they ought to be, we help them to become what they were capable of being.”

Sounds real good doesn’t it? But how often do we do that? How often do we compliment people on the job that they are doing, compared to how often we ridicule them, either for the quality of their work or the quantity, or the slowness. Now I do admit that there is a time and place for correction and further instruction, but not always. And certainly not always the way we do it too! Oh sure we try to hide it sometimes in jokes, but notice the ridicule and put downs disguised as humour? Hear the gossip disguised as News? We can’t help ourselves, sometimes can we? (And anyone who knows me, know that I am really talking about myself here as much as anyone else!)

So the next time you feel like criticising someone, just stop for a moment and see if the criticism is warranted, and then stop and think how you can best get that message across without discouraging the other person. The point of correction should be to improve the quality and quantity of the work, not to cause the worker to cease from it because of your unwarranted criticism.

So before you criticise, even with humour, think about whether you can correct t and guide in a better way. Don’t treat people as complete nincompoops, but treat them as apprentices willing to learn from those who know. So, be one that really knows, and not just one who thinks you know best. Always treat people as if they are already what they ought to be and thus enabling them to be all that they are capable to be. What say you?

*John Goethe: Was on eof the giants of 18^th Century world literature.