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Behavior/Attitude/Value
Many supervisors and other authority figures accept responsibility not only for the well-being of those in their charge, but also for their behavior. In the endeavor to ensure that their behavior is acceptable and appropriate for the standards set by the company or society as a whole, supervisors often spend a great deal of time trying to change the attitudes of their subordinates. Their logic is that if they can change poor or unacceptable attitudes, then proper and acceptable behavior will follow.
The flaw in this logic, however, is that those in authority are responsible for evaluating and regulating the behavior of their subordinates in an appropriate manner. Behavior can be addressed and documented more directly and definitively than attitude. Behavior can be described in clear, concise, objective terms. Descriptions of attitude, on the other hand, tend to require lengthy, subjective terminology. The result is that organizations can write regulations based on acceptable or unacceptable behavior to clearly describe policy, and supervisors can effectively administer and enforce the organization’s policy in clear, concise, objective terms.
This allows for business to be conducted in an orderly atmosphere. On the other hand, regulations based on acceptable or unacceptable attitudes tend to be confusing and subject to the attitudes of the writer, the reader, and the subordinate. Policies developed from attitudes contribute to disorder within organizations.
Attitudes and emotions cannot be measured or explained in definitive, objective terms; they reflect feelings. The result is that discussions about attitudes tend to be much more contentious and far less productive than discussions about behavior. In cases where attitude is seen as a problem, the common good might be better served if the person in authority first identified examples of the other person’s undesirable or unacceptable behavior and then followed up by asking that person to talk about his or her situation and attitude.
This discussion provides an opportunity for the effective use of questions beginning with Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Developing answers for these questions not only tends to reduce tensions, but also tends to de-emphasize the impact of one’s attitude during a discussion. There can be a multitude of reasons contributing to someone’s attitude that have nothing to do with the supervisor, so it is always best to give the person a chance to be heard before independently developing an uninformed conclusion.
A case in point is a firefighter assigned to a company in my district. He asked to meet with me and told me that his wife was having an affair and neglecting his children while he was at the firehouse. He wanted help in preventing his personal problems from becoming work problems. It was vital to him that I understand that the fire department was important to him. He explained that when he seemed out of sorts or inattentive, the problem was not lack of interest in his work, but that he was having a tough time with his personal life. With this knowledge, I would support him when and if he ran into difficulties on the job. He also followed my suggestion and talked to the professionals in the employee assistance program.
As this example shows, a person’s attitude may very well be a reflection of issues unrelated to his or her supervisor or job. In many cases, attitude is actually a call for help. And when it is, the person needs assistance instead of reprimand — compassion instead of punishment.
In the real world, people are responsible for their behavior. The evaluation of behavior can be done with objectivity; the evaluation of attitude however is far more subjective. While unacceptable behavior must be addressed appropriately, no one has the right to judge the worthiness of another as a human being.
“Truth resides in every human heart. One has to search for it there and be guided by the truth as one sees it. But no one has the right to coerce others to act according to his own view of truth.” — Mahatma Gandhi.
The preceding is an excerpt from Bennie Crane's book "Humanity Our Common Ground," available from www.mpowerself.com .
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