Would you do it if you were sick?
February 11, 2008
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Would you do it for free? That is a question some people ask to see how motivated you are to do some work. Good question. Let me ask another one. Would you do it if you are sick, and would you do it better when you are sick?
Surprised? I friend of mine told the story of her dance teacher. Her dance teacher was technically very skilled to the point where others were jealous of her. But she risked reaching a limit to her dance career. She so relied on her technical skills that she did not express herself in the dance. And then one day she had to audition for an important part. Wouldn’t you know it, but that day she was sick as a dog. She ran a fever, her nose ran, and her joints ached. She had the flu. But the part was important and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity so she auditioned anyway. When she finished everybody said that she danced the best dance of her life that day. Not being able to use her technical skill, she had to rely on herself, she expressed true feeling, emotion in her dance, more than ever before.
Another example. A young women worked in a high powered environment and it took her a while to feel free to express herself. Her breakthrough moment came one day when she was in a meeting, sad, because her lover moved to another part of the country, and sick with a serious cold. She felt she was crabby and short, rude even. After the meeting, her supervisory came into her office and thanked her for her contributions. She had been more authentic than before. Being sad and sick, she could not rely on her good graces and good manners, which she possesses in abundance. She cut through the chase, came right to the point and said exactly what she thought. She now knows what to do.
That is why I ask, would you do it if you were sick and would you do it better when you are sick. Sick leave is a major problem in business. It is very expensive and it disrupts workflow. What if all workers did work that they would do better if they were sick? Can you imagine the incredible boost in a company’s performance that would give?
Technorati Tags: performance, illness, sick-leave, love, motivation, skill, excellence
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