Acceptance Without Giving Up | Episode 032

"If you have the determination to do something, it is done."

Confucius

Imagine teaching a young boy how to ride a bike. The boy will hesitate, sway, and probably will fall many times over. However, you will not tell him he would never learn how to bike. You will accept his temporary failures, but you will not give up teaching him.

Acceptance means that you follow the pace of the child and accept his speed of learning and development. And again - without giving up and without resigning from teaching him. You do not resign, simply because temporary failures are just that - temporary. Grit, perseverance, and discipline will help the child learn how to ride a bike. Just like any other adult has learned.

But what happens in teams when people go through their temporary setbacks?

Often their managers do not accept them. They do not accept failures; they do not accept people with temporary failures. One reason that this happens is that managers confuse acceptance with giving up. Acceptance is the ground on which new skills and confidence grow. If there is no acceptance, it is like planting wheat in an asphalt parking lot and waiting for something to sprout.

What happens when there is no acceptance?

When there is no acceptance, there are accusations, condemnation, and abdication. From the ground of accusations and condemnation raise fears, insecurities, and a desire to quit. No reasonable manager wants to develop these feelings in his people. However, they are emerging precisely because of managers who do not find the right way to create the right ground.

As a manager, you accept others' failures because of you. Not because of somebody else. You need this healthy selfishness, so you do not take on the role of the martyr who helps, supports, and helps everyone to feel good and enough. No. The direct and immediate benefits of acceptance are for the other party - it receives encouragement, experience, and confidence. But the indirect and long-term benefits are for the accepting managers who do not give up.

---

Book "Cold Shower for Managers: Empower and Inspire Your Team with Your Humility and Accountability by Plamen Petrov on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2Ka23CU

---

Book "Park Your Ego: Face Your Bullsh*t and Own It" by Plamen Petrov on Amazon - https://amzn.to/38VW3He

---

Book "Barriers to Change - How Managers Overcome Them Together with Their Teams" - https://amzn.to/2Qi8qGP