Are you the cause or are you the effect?

There are 3 kinds of people in the world:

Those who make things happen.

Those who wait for things to happen.

Those who ask: “Why? What happened?”

Winners and achievers always make things happen. They live the philosophy that Ralph Waldo Emerson articulated many years ago: “Shallow people believe in luck. Wise and strong people believe in cause and effect.”

Is the person you are today the effect of some random event, of chance? Are you the product of someone or something which you can easily put a blaming finger on? Or are you a cause, a change agent as you make things happen today?

Every morning when you wake up, ask yourself these questions: “What do I want to cause to happen today? What do I want to produce?” I ask myself the same questions every morning, and then I qualify with “I need God’s grace and wisdom to help me carry through those tasks…” Then I move on towards my goal.

Those are the best management questions of all. People who have a hard time managing people simply have a hard time answering those two questions, because they’re always thinking about what’s happening to them instead of what they’re going to cause to happen.

Leadership means taking the initiative to make things happen. When your people see you as a cause instead of an effect, it won’t be hard to teach them to think the same way.

Now here’s an unpopular idea. You might hate me the moment you read my suggestion, but I’ll say it anyway: Stop criticizing the management!

In any business organization, there will always be jerks, those people who brighten up the room by leaving it. The question is: are you going to let them control you? Or are you going to take charge of your day, work to produce, and move forward to your success goals in life? You can cause that to happen.

When you start criticizing management, you’re inadvertently distancing yourself from them and joining the majority of whiners, moaners and mediocres sobbing the same sad stories of how victimized they are and how unfairly treated. Trust me, it won’t add value to your success goals.

Whining about the management can come in various forms:

You’re quiet, but you roll your eyes every time the name of an executive is mentioned.

You mutter under your breath, “I don’t know why they’re doing this!”

You grumble, “They didn’t consult me because they know I wouldn’t agree to this policy….”

You get mad and say, “These jerks just do not understand what we’re doing here!”

Notice how one word keeps appearing in all of the statements: “They”. What you’re actually doing when you’re whining is you pit “They” against “Us”. You keep people from playing as a team, and you keep other team players from working effectively. When you go from being a producer to being a critic, you start going south. Your toxicity affects other team members because you generate the following impressions about the management, destroying morale and motivation:

1. Management is unfair and they are only using us.

2. This organization has no future.

3. You, together with other leaders, are weak and powerless.

You may think you’re bonding with the losers, but criticizing like this actually leads to deep trust problems and promotes disrespect to the integrity of the organization.

Be a cause, not just an effect. If you’re a leader, have the courage to honorably represent upper management and not run it down. If you’re a team member, have the courage to work effectively and foster unity, without giving in to management gossiping. You know you’ve arrived when you stop using the word “They” and start using the word “We!”

What does Scripture say? “Obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.”

That is being a cause and not being an effect.

 (Spend two whole days with Francis Kong developing your leadership skills this September 29-30 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115.)