Caring Is an Indispensable Part of Success

Success and caring go hand in hand.

Being passionate about what we do, making and keeping commitments and fulfilling personal and organizational potential--all these require caring deeply, not just for a while, but on a sustained basis.

Caring fuels how we think, how we act and what we achieve. Our daily work decisions and behaviors reflect how deeply we care. And these decisions and behaviors set us on a path for achievement or disappointment.

Yet as managers and employees, we observe people not caring deeply.

We see it when someone is doing just enough to accomplish a task rather than trying to create the best possible result.

We see it when someone doesn’t want to take responsibility for work.

We see it when someone is only thinking about getting tasks done rather than thinking about possible consequences and next steps.

Clearly, not caring creates a variety of problems. An uncaring employee is more organizational bystander, unproductive baggage, than significant contributor. Bad habits and attitudes can develop and spread. Work can become minimized, avoided and, rather than accepting responsibility when work is not accomplished, blame is assigned to others. Careers and organizations may stagnate.

So what might we do to sustain and deepen how we care?

As an employee:

* Assess your interests, goals, and progress.

Common sense says that we care more deeply about things we like to do, particularly if they help achieve something important to us. Create a list of what you like and don’t like.

Evaluate goals in light of this list and then assess what has worked and what has not.

By strengthening the link between interests and career goals and by assessing progress, you strengthen your focus and understanding of what you need to do.

* Link your job to interests and career goals.

Your job is a building block from which your career is built, even if it is not directly related by function or industry to where you want to be. Find tasks and projects in your job that better match your interests in activities and skill development. Communicate your interests with your manager and volunteer to work on these projects.

Building an understanding of how your job can help achieve career goals will help deepen caring for the job.

* Connect your job to organizational goals. Understand the value you contribute and how your day-to-day tasks fit in. Know that you create value not only by accomplishing relevant results, but also by how you work, your attitude. By doing this, you will be better able to do your best, not only on the interesting tasks, but also on the boring, if not painful, work.

Find work to do that helps the company achieve its goals and discuss them with your manager. When we know our efforts are important, we understand the importance of caring.

* Be tolerant and patient: Understand that your company and colleagues will not be perfect. And you will not always agree.

Don’t let imperfections destroy motivation and distract you from accomplishing your work. Setting reasonable expectations for mistakes and disagreement will help nurture and sustain caring.

As a manager:

* Translate company goals into priorities and day-to-day actions that are relevant to employees’ jobs. Define and communicate a departmental vision that helps employees understand how they create value in the context of the company’s mission and strategy.

By linking employees’ jobs to the company’s purpose and vision, workers’ level of care is enhanced through a better understanding of the importance of their work.

* Be an effective--not just efficient--communicator, particularly when delegating work. Reduce the inevitable misunderstandings by taking the time to listen and communicate.

* Be a manager with heart. Be a role model. Having heart demonstrates that you care by taking the time to understand the individual differences, aspirations and needs of employees. Having heart means treating employees the way you would like to be treated.

It is caring about employees as people and not treating them like machines. When you know someone is genuinely interested in you and cares about you as a person, you will more likely care in return.

* Managers also need to be tolerant and patient: We know that imperfections exist, that disagreements will occur and that misunderstandings are inevitable. Strive to create an environment where employees feel comfortable in sharing ideas, concerns and interests.

Nurture a caring environment where we understand that mistakes will happen, and respect each other’s individuality. Demonstrate to employees through actions that their development is a vital management responsibility.

Caring deeply is scary. Any commitment is, whether it is to a personal relationship or a job. We make ourselves vulnerable to disappointment. It takes a lot of energy. And caring deeply inevitably involves tough decisions where personal sacrifices are often required to achieve team goals and career success.

But without deep, sustained caring, we can not achieve our potential. Our careers will not have the meaning or success we desire.

Connect your interests, job and career. Put passion into your commitments. Care deeply and achieve.

Gary Izumo is a professor in the Moorpark College Business Department and has managed his own consulting practice. Izumo is a former McKinsey & Company consultant and Practice Leader for the Strategic Management Consulting Practice of Price Waterhouse.