What can motivate dedication at work. Only complete dedication! Helping another person

This phenomenon, when three employees work like four, is usually called a synergistic effect. In relation to personnel management, it can be represented by a mathematical formula: 1 + 1 + 1 > 3. This result can be achieved in different ways. But before we consider them, let's accept two axioms - two starting points that will determine the ways and means of achieving our goals.

Two axioms of a leader

Axiom 1. The manager strives to create conditions so that each employee works with full dedication in accordance with his professional and personal qualities. This axiom is necessary in order to eliminate the situation when two people work like 2.5 (that is, “both for themselves and for that guy”), and one works half-heartedly.

Axiom 2. The manager strives to harmonize the goals of the individual (employee) and the goals of the organization, that is, to ensure that the system of motivation, goal setting, control and evaluation is built on the following principle: when the goals of the organization are achieved, the goals of individuals are achieved.

Let us consider the need for the second axiom in more detail. Let's say the company has its own goals. The individual also has his own goals, and that is why he goes to work for this organization. An organization (its leader) can proceed from the following principle: “What difference does it make to me what this person wants, I need to solve problems.” Approach: “Go and do it, if you don’t like it, goodbye!” Will this approach give good results, will 1 + 1 + 1 > 3? Yes, such situations are known. However, in the long term, there is a danger of losing ambitious employees and being left with a group of only performers.

You can proceed from the opposite principle: “I have such good employees, we live with them like one family, God bless them with goals, why do they have them at all?” Approach: “I’ll make sure my people are happy, there will be results.” This approach can also be effective, but as long as the company is very small. Once the team exceeds 20-25 people, managing conflicts while maintaining relationships of friendship and cooperation will become much more difficult.

Therefore, an effective leader in achieving goals must be guided by the so-called concept of coordination and take into account the interests of both the organization as a whole and the individual. The principle of an effective leader: “When the goals of the organization are achieved, the goals of individuals are achieved.” Approach: “You are the result for me, I am the realization of your personal motivation.”

Let's see if this can be implemented in practice. Let's remember Pareto's law. When applied to personnel management, this law states: there are 20 percent of employees who influence 80 percent of the result. It is these 20 percent that need to be agreed upon first. Because if these 20 percent do not feel that their personal goals are being achieved in achieving the organization's goals, they will perform worse (lose motivation). Thus, the minimum task is to agree on 20 percent of employees. Agree, not so much. But this will give tangible results to the organization and will make other employees strive to get into this top twenty.

To implement the concept of coordination, the manager needs to know the motives of the individual. How to identify them, how to analyze them and how to use them in the reward system? Let's talk about motivation and use our knowledge of the rules for setting the “right” goals and delegation*.

* - Read about how to correctly set goals and delegate tasks in No. 1-2, 2005.

Getting information

How to find out what working conditions are necessary for an employee to work to his full potential? "Ask!" - you will say and you will be absolutely right.

The difficulty is that asking openly is risky. Imagine: the head of the sales department calls his employee and asks: “Tell me honestly, Igor, what do you need to work with full dedication?” Let's fantasize about Igor's feelings. First thought: “Something is wrong... I’m dissatisfied with something...” Second thought: “I need to answer, but what?” Third: “Now I ask for something, it will be given, but the rest is gone...” Let us now remember about the leader. For example, he received the following answer from an employee: “Twice as much money, the position of marketing director, freedom in decision-making and your personal assistant to report to...” Give or what?

Now let's get serious. It is difficult for a person, speaking about himself, to answer the question of what is necessary to work with full dedication. It is even more difficult for a manager, having received a sincere answer, to refuse to fulfill the expressed expectations. Instead of motivation, it’s easy to get the opposite effect and a resignation letter.

Obviously, other methods must be used. For example, the method of projective questions**. With its help you can quickly get an answer to your desired question. The conditions for its application are simple: you need to ask an open question (a question that requires a detailed answer) not about the employee himself, but about people in general and give a limited time to answer (no more than 20-25 seconds).

** Read more about the method of projective questions in No. 9, 2004.

Ask an employee “What motivates people to work at their best?”, give a limited time to answer and you will get their conditions for working at their full potential. Your job is to get as many answers to this question as possible, because each of these answers is invaluable decision-making information and a tool for managing that employee.

Place the question of interest on the list of questions of any test, even a game one, and make sure that the respondents do not guess about the purpose and subject of the survey. For example, conduct a survey before the next meeting. Explain to people that this short exercise will help them disconnect from current work problems, relieve fatigue, and prepare their psyche for another type of activity. Ask participants questions and tell them that whoever gives the most answers will win the competition (you might even offer a small prize for winning).

Example

The head of the sales department of a large trading company was tasked with improving the performance of his department. To do this, the manager decided to find out the motivation of the employees. Before the next reporting meeting, he asked the participants to answer several questions in writing:

1. What do you enjoy doing most?
2. How is a meeting different from work?
3. What motivates people to work to their full potential?
4. What do strawberries and garlic have in common?
5. What should an ideal client be like?

He said each question out loud and gave 20 seconds to answer. The manager promised to give a prize to the employee who gives the most answers. The prize was 12 lollipops (according to the number of meeting participants). Caramels on sticks were solemnly presented on a platter to the winner. Of course, he shared it with everyone. Everyone laughed, ate lollipops, the meeting was fun and twice as fast.

Interpreting the answers

Let's assume you got the answers. Now they need to be analyzed from the point of view of opportunities and threats for management, adapted to the specifics of the company’s activities, the atmosphere in the team, corporate culture, your personality as a manager, positions and functions of employees. By supplementing this analysis with knowledge of the personal and professional qualities of employees, their previous experience and personal data, you will be able to: build a situational leadership system, use the acquired knowledge when setting goals, prepare for communication when delegating tasks, lay the foundation for the implementation of the coordination concept.

So, let’s systematize the answers and highlight the most important patterns for the manager.

First of all, pay attention to how many answers your employees gave to the questions. If they managed to give from three to five answers in 20 seconds, this indicates their high resistance to stress and the ability to quickly formulate their thoughts under strict time constraints.

Next, look at which answers contain a material factor of motivation, and which only contain non-material factors of motivation. We'll show you how to use this information with an example. For example, to the question “What motivates people to work with full dedication?” One employee responds like this:

• Reliable company
• Good team
• Comfortable working conditions
• Location

And the second one is like this:

• Perspective
• Funny
• Creative

Let's try to guess what kind of people could give such answers and where they work. First option: woman, 35-45 years old, accounting or secretariat, not the main breadwinner in the family, growth prospects are not that important, prefers peace, stability and comfort, a pleasant (similar to her) team and an office near home.

Second option: a young and ambitious graduate of a prestigious educational institution, the main thing that interests him is the opportunity to prove himself, to see the prospect of career and professional growth, a team of young, cheerful people like him is needed, the field of activity should be related to creativity (PR, advertising, marketing or the like). Money is also quite important.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of both employees? Let us assume that in the first case everything desired is already reality. The absence of such factors as money, career growth, self-expression, interesting work among the priorities gives the manager guarantees that the employee will be engaged in routine work for a long time and successfully, without creating any special problems. If the employee’s professionalism fully corresponds to the position held, create the required conditions, and the issue of wages will not be raised more than once every two years.

The second case is almost the opposite. An employee first of all needs perspective and development, and quickly. The presence of a material factor among the motivators, oddly enough, is encouraging: a commercial organization is focused precisely on such people. Money management gives the company the opportunity, by tying material rewards to work results, to achieve maximum efficiency for this performer.

If in the first case, a salary increase does not guarantee the employee’s work with full dedication, then in the second case, depending on the situation, the manager can decide which tool to use - material or intangible: create a “fun” atmosphere, show the prospect of growth, assign creative tasks or raise wages. The significance of the material factor of motivation allows it to be used as a universal substitute for other motivators (non-material).

Please note: the first answer does not mean that the employee is ready to work for free. He has very clear ideas about how much he needs to pay in order for him to go to work at all. The difference between the first employee and the second is that the material factor will not ensure work with full efficiency.

And one last thing. One of the important intangible factors of motivation is the need for external assessment. Highlight the answers that contain this need and the answers that do not contain it.

Firstly, the need for external assessment may be expressed in the need for recognition from the manager (answers containing words such as “approval”, “recognition”, “praise”). These employees need to be supported, praised and be careful in criticizing them. Lack of positivity on the part of the leader reduces their effectiveness. They get lost and don't know if they are doing a good job.

Secondly, the need for external assessment can be expressed in the need for control (the words “control”, “pressure”, “tough leader”, “assessment”). Such employees require periodic monitoring and pressure. This keeps them “in good shape” and encourages them to work with full dedication. The absence of pressure reduces activity, relaxes and creates a “comfort” zone, from which it is difficult to leave on your own.

Employees in whose responses you find a need for external evaluation (recognition or control) are people with an external reference. They need to be periodically encouraged and (or) controlled depending on the situation, since it is this intangible factor that can stimulate the employee to work most effectively.

Internal reference is not so obvious in answers to a projective question, but a tendency towards this type of personality can be assumed by the absence of words associated with the assessment. People with internal reference “themselves feel (know) that they have done a good job.” They like to make decisions themselves, without advisers; they need less recognition from the outside. The difference is that praising an internally-referenced employee will not ensure that the manager performs at peak performance. Here you need to use other motivators (for example, show the prospect of career growth and development to our creative employee from the example above).

So, we have shown one way to find out what conditions employees need to work at their full potential. We will tell you how a manager should act, make decisions and implement the concept of coordination in the next issue of the magazine.

Everyone knows that staff need to be motivated. For what? In order to achieve higher performance in the organization. Imagine, you have three employees, and their results are 18. Not bad, right? Let it not be 18, you say, let it be four, but how? Let's talk about how this can be achieved.

Mini-training on interpreting answers to the question:

“What motivates people to work hard?”

Employees with an external reference need to be periodically encouraged (monitored), while employees with an internal reference do not need external support

Three options for employee responses are given:

• creative task
• result
• career
• not an authoritarian leader

2. Approval

• reward
• growth of status
• career
• pressure

3. Normal salary

• understanding of common goals
• team spirit
• clear task setting

Exercise:

1. Analyze employee responses in terms of management opportunities and threats.
2. Which of them would you hire and which would you not? Why?
3. Imagine yourself in the place of the leader of these people. What management and motivation strategy would you choose?

Answers to these questions will be given in the next issue of the magazine.

Dedication is a personality quality that manifests itself in activity through the maximum application of effort, knowledge, skills, and mental strength. Depending on the scope of the actions performed, they distinguish how dedication is manifested in work and love, in serving the homeland and in the game, mastering new things and improving existing ones. Such an application of one’s own forces at maximum speed is in some ways comparable to self-sacrifice, but has a limit of manifestation, then self-sacrifice has no limits (or rather, its limit can be death, as the stop of all processes).

Self-giving is activity at the limit of one’s own capabilities, performed unselfishly and unconditionally (here we can talk about sincere love or passion for work). Naturally, it implies a certain sacrifice for the sake of the chosen idea or person, but such sacrifice still has limits of reason (guided by this feeling, you can give all your savings, but not your life, your own sleep time, but not half your organs).

What is dedication

Hard work and dedication may look similar on the outside, but what makes them different is the inside of a person. When working, there will be an expectation of reward, and the harder and harder the work, the greater the expectations will be (we are not always talking about monetary reward, perhaps it is an earned reputation, the favor of sympathy, etc.).

Self-giving is a self-sufficient process, and a person receives reward immediately during the performance of an activity (this is what selflessness looks like when an act is performed for someone and this in itself brings joy, or work is performed in pleasure and happiness, or the satisfaction of other moral needs brings oneself process, not the final salary).

Another option for explaining the term self-giving through an antonym is quite common in religious use, when caring for one’s own needs is put on the back burner (and sometimes completely entrusted to the hands of higher powers), and human activity is directed towards serving higher powers and doing good to others, without waiting gratitude and praise. Such asceticism and immersion in the process is inherent not only in religious concepts, but is also observed in any activity that absorbs a person. Often, in order to develop an idea and the well-being of loved ones, not only selfishness is overcome, but also a mode of minimal consumption is turned on. When all the main resources are devoted to work, idea, person. This is a great spiritual force that fuels motivation from within, and it is associated with sincere love that does not demand anything in return.

To understand the essence of the manifestation of dedication, it is worth considering it not as a general concept, but in relation to certain areas of life. Similar manifestations can be observed widely in cinema and literature, where the hero, guided by love or faith, performs feats, gives his last, and endures bullying and humiliation. All such actions have something in common - the increased importance of a certain object in their own value system. But there are more down-to-earth and more convertible manifestations of acts of dedication.

Dedication in work has always been the most valued quality of an employee, because such a person is not just a good professional with high knowledge, but he puts a piece of himself into every action and worries about the result with all his soul. Such a person never has problems with motivation, and if work activity is guided by dedication, then time will never be wasted, as long as it ends quickly. On the contrary, such people are bursting with ideas, they can linger in order to do something perfect or a little more than expected; they do not organize boycotts due to delays in payment, but begin to look for other ways to obtain common benefit.

However, hard work and dedication are not always able to bring rosy results, as it might seem at first glance, since professional activity includes many more aspects than motivation and. It is worth considering the level of a person as a professional, since a dedicated, low-skilled specialist is equal in productivity and usefulness to a not very motivated, but highly qualified specialist. This can be compared to how a person will run quickly and inspiredly, not knowing the direction, while another will reach faster, using a navigator and not in a big hurry. Typically, in work activities, the immediate result of the work is assessed, and not how much effort you expended, and if you need to stay late to complete the norm, then these efforts are unlikely to be highly appreciated. There is an option to direct your dedication not to empty shaking of air, but to increasing your skills and knowledge, then we can talk about the positive impact of dedication.

This is an aspect of dedication that negatively affects results, but there is also a negative for the individual himself, who has a direct emotional involvement in the work process. If the event is successful, it takes off very quickly and it is easy to attribute all the merit (or most of it) to yourself, but this one will quickly be put in its place by colleagues. It is much more difficult to deal with failures when a person takes full responsibility for the failure, looking for his own mistakes for a long time and feeling the failure of the event as if it were his own. To avoid such crises, you should be able to distinguish between your personal qualities and work issues, without merging together with even the most important matter.

Those for whom work is everything find themselves easy targets for failure in life because, having lost it, they no longer have the support of friends and hobbies. In addition, there is a deterioration in relationships with others, for whom the activity does not seem so important - this arises against the backdrop of a demanding attitude not only to oneself, but also to others, with the only difference - others work without dedication for a very specific reward and their efforts are valued in currency , and not burning eyes.

What can motivate high dedication?

In any of the options (even negative manifestations), dedication is a quality that can still be used in a positive and developing direction, you just need to give the right vector to this great energy of internal motivation. The presence of such aspiration in a person is often encouraged and used, valued and promoted, but increasing relevance lies in the issue of increasing internal motivation, as an indisputable resource, because guided only by external rewards or intimidation, a person acts within a given framework, determined norms, from motivation to motivation without introducing your own energy. The activity of an internally motivated person who works without carrots and sticks from the outside looks much easier, more productive and creative.

To understand how to encourage a person to give of himself, one should analyze his future activities and the person’s hobbies. Simply satisfying a person’s interest can significantly increase his motivation, because doing something interesting is a reward in itself and saturates the individual’s resources. By reviewing the activity, including in it moments that are interesting to a person, you can increase the overall level of his dedication.

If the external push remains, then it is worth keeping it in constant dynamics (if bonuses for fulfilling the plan are chosen, then they should be constant, and over time their volume should increase). But providing motivating support for an ever-increasing material component at a certain point becomes unprofitable or even unprofitable, and besides, this is not the true basis of dedication. External reinforcing factors include praise, recognition, and public respect. For many, it is more important to receive personal recognition from superiors in resolving a certain issue than monetary reward for this.

We have all suffered the trauma of rejection and devaluation, such praise and gratitude are healing for the soul, and are what people will try for. If the boss evokes sympathy with his attitude towards employees and shows human qualities, then his requests will be fulfilled faster, and the internal climate in the team may become less likely to leave for a better-paid job. Thus, it is not so much work moments as personal relationships that can increase dedication even in the workplace.

The opportunity to be heard and bring your ideas into the common cause helps with dedication, because when a person implements his own ideas, his motivation grows, his interest remains active, and ideas develop even behind the work walls. If you constantly tell people how to act, keeping them within limits, then within these limits they will work, without dedication, but only within the agreed time frame.

The era of external stimulation has long been in its death throes; it will no longer be possible to control dozens of people with the help of external influence (bonuses and fines, certificates and reprimands), now an individual approach and the ability to notice a person, remember him and call him by name when greeting him in the corridor are required. It is precisely individual value that everyone strives for in the era of averaging and depersonalization.

Firstly, motivation is a person’s system of motives. A motive is what motivates a behavior. For example, when you were interviewing for a job, you could identify the following motives from one applicant for a job in your beauty salon: professional growth, the opportunity to participate in professional competitions, work in a creative team, avoidance of routine and monotony. In another applicant, you may have discovered other motives: a stable salary, working in a non-conflict team, the importance of a good relationship with the director. That is, motives are strictly individual. What motivates one employee may not affect another. Secondly, motivation is a system of actions to activate the motives of another person. For example, these are your management actions to encourage staff to engage in service behavior and actively sell home care products. Let me remind you that the “golden hands” of the staff, service behavior, sales skills, and documents describing the requirements for personnel themselves are useless. Not only must your employees “be able” to provide excellent customer service, but they must also “want” to do so. Your task is to multiply the “CAN” of the staff by the “WANT”. “I want” is motivation.

Lee Iacocca, American manager:“When it comes to keeping a business moving forward, it’s all about motivating people.”

What place does money occupy in the motivation system? On the one hand, money is a material motivator.

E.M., owner and director of a beauty salon:“In our salon, specialists work under the following conditions. If a specialist fulfills a sales plan, that is, sells home care products for a set amount, then he receives 35% of the cost of services provided to clients minus the cost of consumables, plus 10% of sales. If a specialist does not fulfill the sales plan, then he receives 30% of the cost of services provided to clients minus the cost of consumables.”

On the other hand, money can act as an intangible motivator. For example, you assessed the quality of service in your beauty salon using the “Unknown Client” method. You have identified employees who complied with the “Customer Service and Active Sales Standard” and applied the knowledge and skills acquired in business training to implement this standard. You paid the “service” leaders a premium. This is an intangible motivation for service behavior and sales. The money in the form of a bonus in this case was a positive assessment of compliance with the standard. You have demonstrated that you, as a manager, value employees achieving high service results based on a standard.

Practice shows that the potential of money as a motivator, that is, as a driver of staff activity, is exaggerated. In practice, it does not turn out that the more the manager of a beauty salon pays employees, the better they work and the more loyal they are. This principle applies only to a certain extent. The money your employees receive in the form of salaries is important. But they do not motivate, they control, oblige, force. Adequate salary, good living conditions, suitable working hours, convenient location of the salon do not motivate, but only reduce the dissatisfaction of your staff. That is, due to these factors, your staff simply comes to work in your beauty salon and does not look for another job.

“Burning eyes,” activity, energy, and work with full dedication can be evoked if you identify and engage the real interests and desires of your employees. That is why it is important to identify the motives of the future employee at the personnel selection stage. Then, during the adaptation stage, regularly communicate with the employee on probation to clarify his motives. After this, having hired a person on staff, during individual conversations, constantly notice how much the work in your beauty salon corresponds to the employee’s motives. Let me remind you that an individual’s motives can change over the course of life and with gaining professional experience.

R.O., owner and director of a beauty salon:“I have a good hair stylist who works for me, she is about 40 years old. Lately she has been depressed and tired. I began to think about changing jobs, because as I get older, it becomes more and more difficult to provide services to clients. When I announced the imminent opening of a second salon, she perked up. We agreed with her that she would be able to teach novice hairdressers in two salons. She went back to school to learn the techniques of teaching hairdressing.”

If you, as the manager of a beauty salon, are thinking about building a motivation system, then it is important to understand what exactly you want to motivate your staff to do.

WE MOTIVATE staff to work in your beauty salon. For this purpose it is advisable build a staff retention system, that is, provide employees with a social package, which in a “beautiful” business usually includes the following.

1. Insurance employees from an accident. This way, you really pay attention to the health of your employees. You show that you are not an exploiter and that not only your personal profit is important to you. Your employee receives a policy from the insurance company and understands that you, as an employer, have taken care of him. If an insured event occurs, the employee will receive monetary compensation, and your concern for him will acquire specific material expression.

2. Payment (credit) for training, visiting professional exhibitions in the field of beauty and health. By paying for or crediting training, on the one hand, you, as the head of a beauty salon, are doing yourself a favor. Because the employee will use the knowledge and skills acquired as a result of training for the benefit of your clients. On the other hand, you satisfy the staff's needs for novelty, professional growth and achievement.

N.I., administrator of the Beauty and Health Center:“Twice a year, the director of our Center sends my colleague and me to professional business training on working with clients, which takes place at a well-known international exhibition. We don't pay for this. We have been waiting for this event for six months. We really need an atmosphere of celebration and communication with administrators like ourselves. After a day of this training, we go home inspired, with new ideas for better customer service in our salon. The good mood lasts for about a month. Clients ask: “What happened to you, why are you so smiling?”

3. Preferential (interest-free) lending employees. It is impossible and unnecessary to give this opportunity to all employees. But it is important to provide such an opportunity to key employees who make up the service core of your beauty salon.

A.K., owner and director of the SPA salon:“If I can help an employee solve his life problems, then I definitely do it. I don't need an employee burdened with everyday problems. For example, I practice interest-free lending. This is a tool for creating loyalty. Any employee can contact me with a request for such a loan. Not everyone will get it, but everyone has the opportunity. If an employee is loyal, follows all the rules, and is constantly learning, then I help. It's not about gratitude here. It’s just easier for an employee without everyday problems to work.”

4. Financial assistance. If difficult times happen in the life of your employee or his family, then providing material and other assistance is a matter of your honor, both from a human and managerial point of view.

From the editor: Preparatory materials for a new political seminar in the editorial office of Gefter.

About the actions of people, including the actions of those in power, one can tell differently. Types of stories narratives there are different ones. Science is just one of them; but no science cancels the way of narrating events in which the personal guilt and responsibility of the ruler are intertwined. Dominant decides and therefore he guilty, whatever the reasons for the decision and the likelihood with which it could have been made under the circumstances. Of course, he is guilty only for those who can blame him! The guilt and responsibility of the ruler is included in the current narratives about power. The power of the ruler becomes a topic, they talk about it. If They say, that agent-1 decided that it was his orders that others obeyed, then guilty in the consequences it is agent-1, because it is he who achieves his goal through power, imposing his decision on those who oppose him.

Why does the ruler need power to achieve his goals? Perhaps they can be achieved in some other way: by bribery, flattery, the power of persuasion, the ability to evoke love and devotion to oneself, not clouded by commands and violence against the will? Of course, we can say that all these are types of power, but this would mean greatly simplifying the whole understanding. Power means that one must achieve one's own by subordinating someone else's opposing will. The ability to use money, the ability to persuade, and, if necessary, also threats, distinguishes an effective ruler from one who relies only on superiority in power and law, be it his personal superiority or the power of the institutions behind him. But the pure phenomenon of power cannot be understood unless one sees what remains when, from all the components of effective action, everything else is subtracted that is not associated with that specific violence over the will, that voluntary compulsion, which we have identified as the original manifestation of power to the observer. There is - besides calculations and frames, besides all the tricks and methods of communication - that element which we can call affect of power. The affect of power is an unreasoning desire to rely on someone else’s will, conquering it, determining a personal decision, the choice of means and the choice of goals. It is this desire that artists and philosophers have noted among rulers for thousands of years. Power is desired for its own sake, because the act of power gives a special kind of pleasure, surpassing all others and triumphing even over the fear of death. It is the desire to “rule to your heart’s content” that makes any boss morally responsible and socially guilty. The will of the subject is subjugated, and evidence of its subjugation is the imputation of guilt to the conqueror. True, in fact, things may not come to this. This is only a possibility contained in the very structure of power, which reveals itself as personal, despite all the impersonal mechanisms. But this possibility remains, so to speak, on both sides of the government. Since the will remains on the side of the conquered, the possibility of action also remains, and the possibility of action is still a kind of power and, therefore, guilt. The personal relationship between the ruler and the ruled is a mutual recognition of the possibility of guilt, and the asymmetry of this relationship is especially clearly visible when the maximum possibility of action is coupled with a minimum willingness to admit guilt, and guilt is attributed precisely to the one who could least act willfully. The ability to find a balance between the necessary degree of personal responsibility of a subordinate in combination with his own willingness to refuse to impute guilt to the ruler is a condition for long-term retention of power. But what if power is not a personal relationship? If this is power over many people, what then? The asymmetry in favor of the ruler persists only until the multitude, which defines itself as the people, presents him with an account for all. This is how the fall of individual rulers occurs, to whom the greater the guilt, the greater their power. It is all the more remarkable that accusations often focus not on the mistakes of the government, but on the lust for power of the overthrown despot: the affect of power is morally reprehensible, it is recognized only as a means.

Let us consider in this connection an instructive episode in the history of ideas. Max Weber, in his famous speech “Politics as a Vocation and Profession”, delivered in 1919, mentions that a true politician “strives for his cause.” There's no footnote, but it's a quote. Weber's listeners, one might assume, knew almost by heart an important philosophical work, Nietzsche's book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Therefore, Weber quotes it without mentioning the source. “I have long ceased to strive for happiness, I strive for my work, I long to complete my work” - this is Nietzsche’s Zarathustra’s answer to eudaimonic ethics, which calls happiness the highest good. Neither religious salvation, nor that “dry satisfaction” from the consciousness of fulfilled duty, which Kant wrote about, are also not suitable for a politician! A politician, Weber continues, is a warrior who knows that he may die, but his firmness and determination are not connected with hopes for the “bliss of Valhalla.” This determination, hopeless fearlessness for the sake of the highest, that great cause that constitutes his calling, is a sign of grand style politics. Such a policy presupposes treating a person as a means, and not as an end. Power means a decisive choice of a higher goal, to which all actions of the ruler and the ruled are subordinated. Only historically, by a combination of circumstances, can one explain why such an understanding of the political good is generally possible and why this choice, so obvious in one era, is not accepted or, in any case, does not seem obvious in another. Only the redistribution of the energy of action gives us an idea of ​​​​the structure of such power: if all the thoughts, all the actions of a person are focused on gaining power for the sake of what seems to him the most important matter, this gives him superiority over other, less integral, less energetic people, to a lesser extent ready to give everything in the struggle for power and therefore more likely to be among the losers. That specific insensibility of the ruler, which we so often learn about in stories about tyrants, may be connected precisely with this dedication to the highest, no matter what it is called. The asymmetrical relationship of self-giving of the ruler to the higher, while neglecting the lower, continues further, downward, paradoxically connecting the dominated with the ruling attitude of emotional dependence, that love for the despot, which cannot be explained in terms of exchange and which does not need reciprocal love and does not cause it. It does not arise on its own, but only because complete dedication from the bottom up turns out (due to circumstances that may each time have a historically unique character) one of the few socially acceptable affects in hierarchical structures, along with horror, admiration and the like. It is self-giving that paralyzes the imputation of guilt on the part of those subordinate to the ruler. The ruler speaks of dedication to the highest and responsibility before him; he can call this a calling or mission. But the highest, if it is not a person, does not ask the question of responsibility. The authority of imputation in human relations is always human.

Plato said that self-giving, self-forgetfulness, self-overcoming, that is, the rejection of the superficial and everyday inclination to temporary pleasures, requires a special ability to concentrate effort, rage, which distinguishes a real warrior. This rage is directed first at oneself, at curbing lusts and redirecting their energy in the direction indicated by the mind. The asceticism of a warrior who considers himself an instrument of the highest and therefore fearless has been described many times, but victory over oneself as a condition for victory over others is not only the source of the special energy of the ruler, but also a figure of speech, a way of talking about power, organized, perhaps, completely according to -to another. If a ruler does not make a decisive choice and does not serve the cause, does not overcome his weaknesses and does not build his entire life in subordination to a higher unity, where do his decisions come from, which are binding on those under his control, what guides his choice, does he make any choice at all?

Speaking of power as service to the highest, we again turn it into a means, but it would be strange not to notice that it does not have to be a means. Action and the ability to act can be the highest goal in themselves. The basis of action lies in the action itself, and the resistance of people and objects is needed only in order to lean on it, to feel the very power, that is, power. In dedication to the highest and in the aimless rapture of power as such, the personal moment of power is almost erased, which is why personal devotion to the supreme ruler turns out to be much less than the emotional dependence that we above called love for the despot. There is no paradox here, because dependence stems precisely from the absence of that which implies devotion. Long distance and short distance, the absence of personality itself within the relationship and the warmth of an intimate connection within a small circle of those closest to each other are mutually exclusive. Power over multitudes of people does not remain the same in the family, in intimate relationships, among friends. The Lord is lonely. But personal whim, personal arbitrariness, personal readiness to give free rein to desires not only form around him areas of personal enmity and personal attraction, but also create replicas of whimsical autocracy wherever the action of supreme power extends as a symbolic model. The structure of power is repeated at different levels, and now everywhere we see power that is depraved and corrupting, power as a means of satisfying desires, so unlike, it would seem, the politics of the grand style. Its specificity lies in its impurity, in the absence of that certainty that makes it possible to separate power from all other ways of influencing people. Corrupted, corrupt power is effective in achieving the goal, but the rank of the goal itself is low: one can strive for it only under duress or thoughtlessly, without bringing matters to the resolution of the most important issues, without wanting decisive, final clarity and without even knowing that it happens . The problem with corrupted personal power is that the struggle for results fails exactly where the effect is greatest: bribing, deceiving or intimidating the enemy is an excellent way to achieve your goal, which, however, does not allow you to rely on the elasticity of someone else's will in your actions. We already know: the more effective personal power is, the closer it is to a dangerous point - the disappearance of power itself, powerlessness in the place of power. Personal power lies between two extremes. One of them is the self-giving of the ruler to the highest, but also pure, cold intoxication with power as such, a means that has replaced goals. Here the personal is an effort of self-forgetfulness or that special attitude towards one’s own ability to act, which Nietzsche called pleasure. The second extreme is the reduction of power to the level of one of the means of satisfying desires. Here, personal influence on others, that is, the ability to convince, strategic play (the ability to outwit another, combine the direct use of force, threats, bribery, disposal of information), that is, the ability to achieve one’s goal in the most effective way, are interconnected so tightly that it is this universal the ability is called power, and it takes either time or a special theoretical effort for its fundamental corruption to become apparent.

Notes

1. See: Magun A.V. Unity and loneliness: A course in political philosophy of modern times. M.: New Literary Review, 2011.

I have long been interested in this question: when and how did it happen that in the Russian business environment that funny soap-bubble myth was inflated, as if Balzac’s young ladies were offended by their intelligence and education (as an option - pimply graduates of library faculties of “cultural institutes”), who traditionally worked HR managers who stupidly stamped out a couple of dozen standard “vacation/accepted/dismissed” forms suddenly became HR managers???

That is, having woken up one morning, they began to be considered bearers of a certain “secret knowledge of human souls” with the right to formulate the personnel policies of companies, and, by interpreting the “magic signs” of homemade “profiles”, decide who to hire and who not . To do this kag-be in accordance with the “methodics”, which, it is clear, simply do not exist in nature, not to mention the fact that someone taught them this. What is noteworthy is that they themselves quickly became inflated with the pathos of the new “status” that had fallen upon them and sincerely believed in the latter (which would have been half the problem).

But, bad luck, now they still need to somehow “correspond” to the said legend - and so they begin to get creative right on the fly (and here’s the problem... it’s no laughing matter). I have long discovered reading specialized forums for HR people, where they shout down their innate cretinism to all honest people, as a life-giving source of entertainment in their leisure time (I recommend). But not only do they never cease to amaze me, but they actually progress every year, adding to my impromptu collection of pearls.

The next exhibit pleased me with a comrade who went on a journey through the large circle of resume marketing/HR bullshit. It would seem like a simple questionnaire that you are asked to fill out and send back before your first interview. But no, you can feel the “creatiff” of the inflamed brain of a member of the “secret lodge of the order of those who took part in the sacred teaching.” Well, how could it be otherwise if it contains the following amazing points:

SECTION 1. PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. Full name ________________________________________ __________
2. Date, month, year of birth________________________________ __________________
3. Place of birth________________________________ ____________________________ (country, region, city)
4. Passport: No.___________ series ________________ issued by whom ______________________ when

>>>>>>>>>> so far everything seems to be standard, although don’t they give a damn about their place of birth? And why be so rude right away by demanding full passport details? The ID can be checked upon meeting... a little alarming. But then things start to get really interesting:

5. Immediate relatives:
Father ________________________________________ _______________________________
Mother__________________________________________ _____________________________________
(Full name, year of birth, occupation)
Brothers, sisters ________________________________________ ______________________________
(Full name, year of birth, occupation)
Wife husband_______ ________________________________________ _____________________
(Full name, year of birth, occupation)

>>>>>>>>>> The only thing missing is a listing of all relatives up to the 5th generation, and who did what before 1917... Is this normal “scanning” of the whole family? Something is missing... oh yes, there’s more here:

Number of children ___________ Full name, year and date of birth of children

>>>>>>>>>> well, let’s assume, for example, that the latter is “important” for them to know in order to prepare gifts for the children’s birthday... yeah...

6. Marital status (check): single (not married)______ married______ divorced______

>>>>>>>>>> I didn’t know that this item in the questionnaires can have as many as three answer options - live forever, learn forever... From the last answer option, as far as I understand the HR plan, they are going to draw FAR-FAR-RANGE conclusions about the professional qualities of the applicant. Why is it not so thick then? And where are the items “convinced bachelor”, “divorced several times - indicate the number” or “married + have a family on the side”, or “I sneezed this stamp in my passport into my mouth - I prefer a civil marriage”... where is this “ a treasure trove of information" about the applicant's PROFESSIONALISM? Why are they depriving themselves of it???? Next is the standard information about the address of your place of residence, what can surprise you? But no, these very much can:

7. Registration address: postal code __________________ street _________________________________________ ___ city ______________________________ house __________ building _________ apartment _______nearest metro station

8. Address of actual residence: postal code __________________ street _________________________________________ ___ city ______________________________ house __________ building _________ apartment _______ telephone ______________________ nearest metro station

9. Housing conditions (check):
I have a department. lived area: apartment________ room in comm. apartment________ house________
I live with my parents: in an apartment________ room in the comm. apartment________ house________
I rent: apartment________ room________ house________

>>>>>>>>>> oh wow! =) Where are the questions about the bathroom (separate/combined/in the yard) and the loggia (glazed)? Are the floors in the jerk heated? And the view from the windows, isn’t it a trash heap?

10. In your opinion, do you have any limitations due to health, marital status, personal inclinations that prevent full and fruitful work (yes/no)____________

>>>>>>>>>> I wonder if a “smart” HR specialist really expects to receive an honest answer to this question, saying, “Yes, there are reasons that will fucking interfere with my full and fruitful work ... accept me...")))))

15. Do you drink alcoholic beverages, alcohol (no, rarely, often, I have an addiction - underline as appropriate)

>>>>>>>>>> any applicant is probably tempted to emphasize “I have an addiction” and write next to it in shaky handwriting “alcoholism in the terminal stage, the pipes are on fire, will you pour it?”

16. Do you use drugs? (Not really) _____________

>>>>>>>>>> oh, why isn’t there “underline what is necessary” here? This, you know, you have to enter “yes-no” with your own hand! Not every drug addict in withdrawal can pass such a test...

17. Have you been brought to criminal or administrative liability? (Not really) ________
If yes, then indicate under which article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation
________________________________________ _____________________

18. Have you been on trial or in court proceedings? (Not really) __________________.
If yes, then for what reasons?
_______________________________________

>>>>>>>>>> yes, yes, please indicate the full list of articles of the criminal and administrative code under which you were prosecuted. For administrative purposes, indicate all fines for violating traffic rules for your entire life. And don’t forget to mention the dispute with your neighbor due to the flooding of the apartment... ;-)

19. Are you a founder (shareholder) of another company? (Not really)_______________. If yes, please indicate which one.

>>>>>>>>>> well fucked up, there are simply no words.... but what about “the key to the apartment where the money is”?

SECTION 2. EDUCATION, PROFESSION, SKILLS.

>>>>>>>>>> here, in addition to the standard questions, the following pearls attract attention:

4. Work activity, starting from your last place of work or occupation<....>If you have not worked recently, please indicate your source of livelihood:

5.Indicate real income from your last job (or the amount of unemployment benefits):
________________________________________ ____________________________

6. Do you have additional sources of income (yes/no) ____________ If yes, please indicate which ones:

>>>>>>>>>> damn, maybe then they would immediately ask you to bring a copy of the tax return? Well, a bank card with a password to see the movement of funds in the account, why be modest?

10. Do you have a foreign passport (yes/no) ______________________

>>>>>>>>>> fuck yes, and the second citizenship is “Mexico”, so be afraid of me - I’ll throw money at you and there’s somewhere else to blame - that’s the essence of the question? I wonder if the last three points above refer to which word from the section title: “education”, “profession”, or “skills”?

11. Assess your level of preparation for this position: I don’t know_______ capable worker_______ experienced worker_______ master, specialist_______ qualified specialist_______ professional_______

>>>>>>>>>> this is the first time I’ve seen this... this problem is not for average minds... I wonder if they giggled loudly while they were sucking out the wording of the answer options? While delving into the question, I actually “laughed” a couple of times... :-)))

15. Do you have a personal car? (Not really) __________________. If yes, please indicate the brand and number ________________

>>>>>>>>>> why so modest? Why couldn’t you ask for a control license and a set of keys/buttons (for storage)?
Well, then the HR heresy and brain miscarriages, which have already become commonplace, but this does not cease to be the stupid nonsense of mentally deprived would-be “specialists”:

1. What, in your opinion, allows you to be successful in your professional activities?
2. Why do you consider yourself worthy to take this position?
3. What are your strengths?
4. What are your weaknesses?
5. Why did you leave (or want to leave) your previous job?
7. What can most motivate you to be highly dedicated at work?
13. What knowledge and (or) professional skills do you lack?
15. What are your professional goals for the coming years?
16. What do you like to do in your free time?

>>>>>>>>>> well, it’s all just little things. Although HOW CAN YOU PAY the salary of a “person” who can seriously cram this into a “form” is beyond my understanding... also probably SECRET KNOWLEDGE (directors of burned-out small firms)... Before asking questions, I’ll say right away: position, which my acquaintance was applying for, was not “agent 007” at all, but a completely ordinary middle manager, not even entailing financial responsibility.

PS There is such an article of the Labor Code:

Article 65. Documents presented when concluding an employment contract

When concluding an employment contract, a person applying for work presents to the employer:
- passport or other identification document;
- work book, with the exception of cases when an employment contract is concluded for the first time or the employee starts working on a part-time basis;
- insurance certificate of state pension insurance;
- military registration documents
- for those liable for military service and persons subject to conscription for military service;
- document on education, qualifications or special knowledge
- when applying for a job that requires special knowledge or special training.

It is prohibited to require from a person applying for a job documents other than those provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation...<перечисленных выше>

>>>>>> Please note: it follows from this that, apart from the citizen’s identity card and information about his professional education, they have no right to “demand” ANY other personal information, even from an employee who has already been hired. Moreover, they do not have the right to demand even information about their place of residence, not to mention everything else. Thus, according to the law, they do not have the right to refuse to hire a person who is not registered ANYWHERE (not registered). But, bitches, they taught everyone to think that this was obligatory.
Even more needs to be said: the word “require” in relation to information about a person is not applicable at all, due to the following rules:

Art. 86 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation General requirements for the processing of employee personal data and guarantees of their protection 4) the employer does not have the right to receive and process the employee’s personal data about his political, religious and other beliefs and private life.

Art. 24 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
1. Collection, storage, use and dissemination of information about the private life of a person without his consent is not permitted.

But, OF COURSE, wanting a “HR specialist” to know the ELEMENTARY norms of labor law is a fantasy. Nobody even expects or even thinks of demanding this from these funny little animals. (Directors, probably last). But there is such an elementary aspect as ETHICS. What do company managers think when they directly or indirectly approve of the practice that a specialist responsible for personnel policy and hiring an employee, RIGHT AWAY, even before a fleeting personal acquaintance, is openly rude to a potential employee of the company with such wording of questions or options for answering questions that are completely innocent? And these are people on whom the success or failure of the office will depend in the future? No self-respecting employee, capable of choosing among employers on the labor market, would NEVER stoop to sending unknown people SUCH A VOLUME OF EXCELLENTLY CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL information. And who can do this? - correct: a downtrodden farm laborer with no self-respect, with low (most likely not without reason) self-esteem, shaking for every vacancy. Is there a worthy circle of “candidates” to form the company’s “specialists”? That's it... who tried? - precisely those who were foolishly put in charge of the quality of personnel, and who are also paid a salary for such “work”.

But to hell with it, with personnel policies and potential problems for the employer. If we approach the question from the other side: in what other way can an attacker obtain SUCH an enormous amount of personal confidential information about a potential victim? - here’s a great way for you: post a “delicious” ad with an inflated salary on a job site for free and send such questionnaires to those who respond. And the “target audience” can be selected “to suit you” and as a result you can identify PATENTED SUCKERS - very convenient, isn’t it?

PPS Of course, my comrade (on my advice as well) instead of this questionnaire sent the “employer” a long letter containing only “in” and “on” from non-swear words. What I advise everyone in a similar situation

And for the heads of organizations, I highly recommend that you stick your nose into the kitchen of your personnel services and see for yourself what kind of idiocy (even outright sabotage) they spend money on, maintaining these free clowns.... Their limit is the routine brainless printing and filling out a couple of dozen standard forms, and tryndezh "fkontaktike" in the remaining 95% of free working time. Do not deprive them of this meaning of existence and do not disgrace yourself once again by trusting them with anything other than.