Being on a Team - Building Relationships
Hey all,
I wrote a blog post with some thoughts on relationship building and being a professional that I wish that I had learned in school, but instead learned through trial and error. Hopefully it will be beneficial to some artists still in school, looking for work, or just starting out their first job. (Or anyone that needs a refresher)
http://blog.dns-art.com/2013/06/being-on-a-team-building-relationships/
I'm just getting back into writing more, so if you have any thoughts, please share.
- Dan
I wrote a blog post with some thoughts on relationship building and being a professional that I wish that I had learned in school, but instead learned through trial and error. Hopefully it will be beneficial to some artists still in school, looking for work, or just starting out their first job. (Or anyone that needs a refresher)
http://blog.dns-art.com/2013/06/being-on-a-team-building-relationships/
I'm just getting back into writing more, so if you have any thoughts, please share.
- Dan
Replies
And about this issue:
What I do is just take the crap. Creating friction between colleagues is NEVER a good idea. I've worked in 4 different countries, different cultures, so it always pays to be a bit more conservative in your behavior. Some of them can be a bit more aggressive, some of them might not take critique in a good way, so, when in doubt, just shut up and do what you gotta do.
People who have a bad temper are quick to judge but also quick to change their minds. In the end, it always paid off to me. All the difficult people I've dealt with ended up liking me a lot!
Thank you for pointing out an area where the article is somewhat lacking. Much of the advice given posits a black/white world, and more often than not, the situations we are in have a lot of gray in them. MY suggestion for how I would handle the situation is this:
First, create an opportunity for yourself to disengage from the disagreement so that you can take some time to consider it objectively without the pressure of the situation. Take that time to critically think about things from both your and their perspective.
When convenient, set up an opportunity for you and the other party to discuss the issue again. Tell them how you have thought about it, and what your observations are. Build a dialogue between the two of you. You may not reach an amicable resolution on the current disagreement, but you've created a foundation for relating to each other in the future. I think often that is the best you can hope for.
As fonfa mentions, sometimes it is best to pick your battles. I always advocate strongly for my point of view, but if I ultimately don't get my way, I move on to the next thing, and don't let it hold me back.
Thanks Jon, I've been an admirer of your writings and I wanted to start contributing myself.