Have you ever thought about why it is that there are some people who, no matter what type of job they are given, are likely to execute it with excellence?
By Thembe Khumalo
Its often not the most educated people in the group, or the most exposed, its not necessarily the most experienced or the most senior.
Its just a certain personality profile that takes pride in what they do and commits to doing it well, every time.
Once upon a time, I worked with a man who was so frustrated by the quality of work that his staff were delivering, that he asked me to run a workshop on observation and attention to detail.
We were both consultants servicing a large organisation with a very diverse staffing profile.
I tried to explain to him that attention to detail was probably not something one could teach adults in a one hour workshop, but rather something you grew up with or something which was modeled for you.
Practicing attention to detail is really not about your work situation, or managing to attain the boss’s impossible standards.
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Learning to become observant and pay attention is a life skill.
Zimbabweans are renowned for being friendly and hospitable.
Surveys done in the 80s rated us among the friendliest countries in the world.
But for some reason, when we are in an institutional setting, our homegrown qualities seem to flee and we become tunnel-visioned tyrants.
Anyone who has had an unpleasant experience with a service provider can testify to this. However, I am reasonably certain that if you were to visit the same individual at home, the experience would be completely different.
The truth is we are good people. We may have some image and self-esteem issues though, and this will affect how we engage with others.
Last week I attended one of the now-famous AMH Conversations events where three government ministers were invited to participate in a panel discussion on how to get Zimbabwe working again.
I was interested to hear the Minister of Finance, Patrick Chinamasa say that one of the biggest challenges we have as Zimbabweans is a lack of confidence in ourselves.
He went on to say we will go to the extent of refuting compliments paid to us by outsiders preferring instead, to bad mouth ourselves.
But what causes this poor self image? How do we take the ubuntu that we practice in our homes and bring it into the workplace, into government and into the national consciousness?
Well, to begin with, I have observed three interesting elements of Ubuntu. Ubuntu does not condone a “what’s in it for me?” mindset Ubuntu does not change dependent on conditions and circumstances Ubuntu maintains good behaviour, even when no one is looking.
Do you sometimes wonder, at the end of the day when you feel like you have been climbing a mountain on one leg, why the issues of good character, of positive self image, of ubuntu, and of paying attention to detail are important?
I suppose we all do, to a certain extent, and it is important that we remember that they are important and why they are important.
When you behave well, it helps other people. That is a good thing.
When you practice good character it gives you the advantages of a clear conscience and having taken the high road, you sleep better at night.
Paying attention to detail protects assets, many of which are difficult to replace, even if you got them at a low cost.
Good character ultimately wins you the respect and favour of your colleagues, your family and your community.
Attention to detail is not a job for specific people. It is not only relevant to those who have it in their job description or who have it on their terms of reference.
Good habits are to be practiced by everybody all the time, because they benefit all of us.
Paying attention to detail is not actually such a very big ask. It simply involves looking, listening, thinking and acting.
Living with a consciousness of the kind of world we want to create, enjoy and leave behind for the next generation.
In Zimbabwe, it is not even about changing a mindset. It is about remembering who and how we are at home, and taking that with us wherever we go.
We are in fact practitioners of five star hospitality at home.
All we need to do is to bring that into the workplaces, political spaces and the nation at large.
