Few People Understand

Many people spend their time, full-time, on elbowing a career, improving their personal position, aiming at a promotion, planning a next strategic move, working on political strategies, making more money, ripping off people, whatever it takes.

Few people understand what motivates me. Few people understand:

• My drive to make our world a better place to live and work in;
• My apathy for titles and hierarchy;
• My respect for people as the core of my actions and being.

Few people understand that no promotion, no bonus, no pseudo-moral bribery, no threats have changed or will change these inner drives. Few people understand that no hierarchies keep me from addressing people’s issues, challenging the status-quo or experimenting with improvements.

Few people have the mental openness to understand that I care only about the content of my work, about working with people, about my autonomy (in team, time, tasks and tools, as described in Daniel Pink’s Drive). Don’t come to tell me what you want from me, or try to use me for power games or self-promotion. It only wears me out, and only causes me to respond emotional and unexpected (much to my own dismay). Come to work with me and great results may emerge.

I share this reluctantly. It is not a pose. Maybe this one-time notice helps. Maybe it helps you to see why we don’t get along or why you feel ignored. In the meantime I have the best work and personal life possible, the greatest career possible; by not minding my career.