What Does The Word "WEGO" Mean??
Dr. Gorden:
I have read many of the questions and responses on your page. Although your
advice is always clear there is one thing that I don't fully understand. When you
sign off your responses you always seem to mention "WEGO." What does this
word mean?
Sincerely,
-- I'd WEGO if I knew how.
Dear Wanna WEGO:
What does WEGO mean??? Wego is a combination of three words known to
almost everyone: "we," "go," and "ego." The idea for coining this word came to
me years ago when I was creating games that teach a lesson.
I created two games which illustrate the WEGO principle. One was about cases
which were decided by the Supreme Court. This game attempted to teach the
players how the case was decided by them reading a summary of the case and
sharing excerpts from the opinions of the justices. The other aspect of the game
was for the players to deliberate and argue how they would decide the case if
they were the jury. In short, by involving themselves in the case, they became
informed decision makers. WEGO means that.
A second game I co-created was titled Prediction. In this game, players predict
how other players' will answer questions of fact such as "Who said, 'I think and
therefore I am,'" debatable questions such as "Should the police be paid less than
teachers?" and personal questions such as "Would I adopt a child?" or "Does he
or she prefer a shower or a tub bath?" If a player makes a correct prediction, both
the predictor and the predictee advance on the game board. If the prediction is
wrong, both, move back. The message of the game is that good communication is
a matter of learning to know what others' values, knowledge, and personal
proclivities are. And that together, we humans who live, work, and play
together, do so more effectively when we make informed predictions. WEGO is
like that.
The word "go," means just that. Go means movement, doing, shaping the work
we do and the place we work. It represents pro-active employee involvement.
The last word which contributes to WEGO is "ego." In the workplace, the
psychological term ego means personal efforts to advance and benefit one's self.
We can not ignore the individual interests of those who work together. Ego in its
rawest form is vicious. It says greed is good. It says that others come second to
me. It says my way is the way it should be. The positive meaning of Ego is that it
motivates hard work, dedication, and high commitment. But ego in its raw
concern for personal advancement creates a hostile work environment. WEGO,
with its all altruistic symbolism, tempers the egoistic motivations and egocentric
behaviors.
WEGO is organization in its best sense: a concern for high performance, a
dedication to the external customer, the collaborative-communicationmindedness of those who work together, and commitment to the well-being of
not just those in the workplace but to the community and environment in which
it is located.
WEGO thus for me embodies the trinity of words "WE," "GO." and "EGO."
WEGO is the mindset I have as I answer questions sent to The Workplace Doctor
home page. I do have but partial truth and partial answers to the concerns of
those who send in their questions. I submit my thoughts, my answers, for
consideration, for discussion, for argument, and for testing. I invite your
feedback.
WEGO, now awaits your ideas about what it means to you.
SOURCE:
Bill Gorden, The Workplace Doctor
http://www.west2k.com/wego.htm
(April, 2006)