Features
Smart Emmanuel: We All Need People to Thrive
…even the worst humans have some good in them.
To achieve our audacious goals, we need people. Although relating with people can be a complex experience. People have committed the best and worst deeds. People can show incredible selflessness and kindness, even when we feel undeserving. In the same coin, flipped differently, the same people may do unthinkable acts of wickedness. And, as humans, we remember the wickedness people do more than their kindness because pain lingers more than pleasure.
The truth is, to achieve greatness, we must learn to work with others, maximising their good while minimising their potential for harm. This can be challenging due to personal experiences and the stories we’ve heard. It’s even trickier in the workplace where you need people to succeed. I know this because, during my 9-5 days, I won the “Person of the Year” award. I was the first and only manager to win the award, and I won it in a very tough financial year. The award was well deserved, it was clear to everyone but without people nominating me for the award, I would never have won even though I worked so hard and deserved it. There’s hardly any success you can achieve without people.
Accepting the truth
One thing we must do is accept the truth that we need people. In the future, despite robots existing, people will still be needed to design, control, and improve them. The most independent people also need people. You may be self-employed but you need to relate with vendors, agents, and customers. Our need for people is inescapable.
Learning that no one is perfect
You will find many people are good in one area but awful in another. For instance, the gifted creative designer always delivers late or a super generous lover who struggles to avoid cheating. Some people might suggest searching for perfection, but I recommend keeping people in relationships they are suitable for. No one should date a cheat, but a generous person can be a good friend to have. No one is perfect, and no one will be. You have to learn to accept people as they are, especially those who have refused to be inspired to change. Once you accept that the creative designer is battling with delivering late, you will make a lot of room for their lateness and follow up effectively.
Then there’s the super employee that is bad with people but delivers great results on their job. They are simply not ready to manage people. They can still get that promotion and salary raise doing the same job. Most people are aware of their weaknesses and understand when people adjust politely.
Learning to Love People
It’s important to note that even the worst humans have some good in them. There are many factors that influence people’s behaviour: society, culture, trauma, and DNA. To thrive with people, accept them as they are, and love them all both good and bad. Showing kindness to the undeserving is one way to plant seeds of change in them. If you can love those who are somewhat evil, loving generous people would then be seamless. As much as we intend to grow at our pace, don’t forget to move with people who can set you on the right path. People need you, and you need people.
***
