The zones of willingness

Overt unwillingness and resistance is a breath of fresh air. There's nothing clearer than a straight-up, 'F you' or being punched after a meeting.

What does willingness look like?

Taking the action with reasonable, professional cheerfulness.

Is that an act? Yes. We act better than we feel. Just like at work.

We certainly admit difficulties and talk about them, but we don't need to perform those difficulties and make recovery glum for everyone around us, too.

How is that action taken? On a good day, enthusiasm; on a bad day, commitment and discipline, as the safety-net. Either way, the action is taken.

The real energy-suck is sullen perfunctory half-compliance: some of the actions are done, and the actions are taken shoddily (sparse stepwork, late for meetings, camera off, sitting at the back, not sharing), and there's the attitude of the fourteen-year-old who would rather be playing with his friends instead of sitting in Double Latin on Friday afternoon.

Best to give up, sort oneself out one way or another, and then either commit or don't, and tread water in meetings until commitment can be made firmly and enthusiastically.

Half-hearted work generates bare progress, if any, and it's possible to work so half-heartedly that one is actually going backwards whilst resenting very much the 'workload' one feels one is labouring under.

No: do it, or don't do it. But don't straddled the marshy middle ground.