How a Learner Could Get Along With a Worker

To think about how to treat a Worker, you have to imagine how you would feel if you decided to stop improving. What would you have to go through in order to be convinced to stop improving? Many Workers have probably gone through something like that. They may have wanted to stay a Learner, but were forced to become a Worker too soon. They might have even wanted to be a Wise Leader, but realized they were not smart enough to become one, or some other reason stopped them, and they had to make this choice.

Can You Convince Them It's OK to Be a Learner Again?

For some it is possible. For some, there is nothing you can do to convince them it's OK to be a Learner.

Talking to Them

Don’t call someone a Worker if you find out they are one. They do not like that kind of conversation.

If they ask you a general question, ask it back to them after you answer.

Be careful, sometimes it doesn’t work.

If they wish you a good time, wish it back to them too.

Be careful, sometimes it doesn’t apply.

If you break one of their rules of how they get along with others, it will upset them if you say it out loud. Saying things like this would make them upset:

• “Oops, I forgot, I was supposed to ask your name after you asked mine.”
• “Oops, I forgot, I wasn’t supposed to say, ‘I am very sad,’ after you asked me, ‘How are you today?’ I was supposed to say, ‘I am good,’ even though it was not true.”

They may think you are making fun of them for not being able to be a Self Guider and it hurts their feelings, or maybe they know someone who they really trusted who gets upset at things like that. If you make one of these mistakes, don’t worry about it. You should focus on being better to help the world one day. If you want to be a Wise Leader someday, it might be a good idea to practice making Workers happy, though.

You might think that all Workers like their job, but some Workers may not like talking about their job. They may not even like to talk about new ways to get their job done. They may have had to make some hard decisions, and decided to take a job they didn’t even like. You should talk about other things (like their environment spaces) if you don’t want to upset them too much.

Wise Leaders don’t expect you to do things that you aren’t ready to do. They predict the negative effects it could have on you. With some Workers, they will want you to jump into their ways as soon as you are able, even if it hinders your abilities. If you don’t and it upsets them, it’s OK. It's better for a Worker to be upset than a Learner to be discouraged from achieving their potential.