The slight nuances of language are vital. When we hear people’s words, we can see into their soul.
Do people work for you, or with you?
Same thing? Not really. Not at all in fact.
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Working for you |
Working with you |
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Directive |
Collaborative |
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Authoritarian |
Decentralised |
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Divergent goals |
Convergent goals |
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Business expense |
Revenue generator |
|
Employee |
Partner |
Working for you
When people ‘work for you’, we subconsciously kybosh their potential as idea merchants and problem solvers. This is a mistake at all levels in any organization.
When we work with people, our minds open and our world changes.
The payment method or equity position of those working with us is irrelevant, what is relevant is how we view our people. And that view is determined by the language we use, in this instance and many others.
Stephen,
Great entry. I just found this site recently and this entry is really true. At my startup and a lot of the startups I follow having management work with the team instead of the team working for management seems to be really working out.
As far as I know no book explains this in a better way then you just did. We often try to find ways to use the “correct” language but not only just use it to be “correct” but to truly bring forth a change in thinking on the management level of the organization.
Thanks for putting this down in words that I think anyone can understand. I’ll be asking everyone in my team at MOSH to give this blog entry a read when they have a chance.
This is valuable information!