How to get the cooperation of others...

How do you get the cooperation of others? There are many ways to get people to do what you want. Coercion, rewards and pleas to name but a few. To get lasting cooperation, good results and maintain goodwill though, the most effective way is probably to get the respect of the person, and have them in a position where they truly want to please you. Think about it from your own perspective. If someone orders you to do something, you might do it, fearful of the consequences if you don't, but you might not necessarily do it that well. If someone who you like asks you to do something, you would probably do it a whole lot better and go the extra mile. In the workplace I often used to get frustrated when others failed to do things up to my own high standards. I would express that frustration visibly and as a result the people who were working with me would tend to go into damage limitation mode, "if I do something for Sara then she is going to pick fault with me, best to do as little as possible and to avoid her if I can". At the time I didn't understand their perspective, (My intent wasn't actually to pick fault, but purely to get things right and done well), and I viewed their drawing back as further evidence of how they just didn't have very high standards, or capabilities. At some point a shift occurred in my own thinking and behaviour. Someone made me understand that people do indeed have very differing levels of capability and standards. For someone like me with extremely high standards, it did me no good ultimately to continue to expect and demand the same of others. I needed to accept that people weren't always going to reach the standard of what I expected of myself and so it was incumbent on me to reduce my expectations in order to avoid being constantly disappointed and irritated. I also became acutely aware that whilst everybody may not be a straight "A" grade student, that doesn't make their contribution any less valuable. Far from it. Everybody is unique from a point of view of experience and everybody has their own distinct value .The trick as a manager or a colleague is to recognise that value and find a way to extract it. It was an enlightening discovery. When I started to look for the good in people as opposed to focussing on what I perceived to be where they were lacking, I had startling results. With a lot of praise and encouragement and just a little bit of direction, many people who I would previously have tended to give little responsibility to became very valuable team mates and the net result of their work was overwhelmingly positive. This in itself starts to create a positive circle. They get praise, they feel happy and they feel more inclined to try even better next time. My shift in attitude and behaviour towards others created cooperation and ultimately a strong loyalty. It also led directly to improved results for the team and business as a whole. Good results, happy people!! Give it a try!