Deciphering People

During my time working in the software development industry I have met a large group of interesting professionals with varying personalities. I have blogged before that some of these relationships have been challenges. However, I guess that is just part of life’s rich tapestry otherwise known as human-kind……We are only talking about 6 or 7 out of hundreds and hundreds……

Another occasion I have blogged about management and team building principles. In particular I once wrote a post that was referring to the team leader or manager being whiter than white when it came to their decisions and actions.

Viewing a team member or a manager through a different perspective is a technique I have come to appreciate in recent years. After all, there is always another view point out there. Whether you agree with the other persons view or not is largely irrelevant, at least in the first instance. The skill is if you are able to see it from their perspective, you are in better position to assist them seeing your viewpoint. Which in theory, should lead to a better solution for your business, client/customer or yourself.

Instigating thinking of perspective in your life and encouraging those around you to think in a similar vein must be good for you, your team or your business that you represent. Far too many people get caught up in politics. I must admit that from time to time I used to get dragged into these kinds of debates.

Developing these skills is difficult and my previous role here in NZ certainly gave me a lot of opportunity to witness first hand a whole myriad of people who failed to see the other perspective and continued on their personally driven paths. Not realising that they were leaving a trail of chaos and dissention in the rank and file.

Considering that this was pointed out to the business on numerous occasions and not to mention by countless numbers within the organisation, it was rather disappointing to witness the situation continue to escalate month after month.

Other approaches to dealing with problems is to not change the perspective and understand other views but to change he scope of the problem. i.e. Describe the problem to yourself in a different way. Therefore, rather than sitting there wondering “Why aren’t my ideas being taken on board?” Ask the question in a different way. “Do the people I am talking to care about the business?”. If the answer is no, then you probably have your answer.

Now we have covered the two simple strategies for breaking down a problem in the workplace, business or home. Yes I did say home. How many of you have kids? How many of you have had to intervene into a piece of sibling rivalry? Firstly, you carefully listen to the views of all the kids involved before choosing who and how to sanction/punish/ground.

Why, why, why then do we see professionals in the workplace not follow these simple steps of listening to all the view points before making a judgement call. I am guessing, it could be preconceived ideas based on ignorance, arrogance, education, experience, naivety……….. This list goes on and on.

Analysing this a little further I feel there is a small element of fear for some. A large degree of politics and sheer greed. Not necessarily monetary greed. Power hungry greed, people who will often step on anyone they feel obstructs them from their personal mission without considering the merits or sentiment of the view holder. Very rarely do these individualistic and selfish approaches to managing a team or business align with the company strategy.

Yet time and time again this cancer of the modern workplace appears to raise it ugly head above the clouds and rain or should I say reign down a culture more aligned to the 15th century rather than the 21st. Thankfully I live in the 21st century and practice personal policies and ethics that try to understand before I react.

If you find yourself in this situation, what are your options? I guess this depends on the area of conflict, whether you feel that anything will change, your personal circumstances etc. This list is longer that the Chinese phone book in Howick.

Sedentary work, or office work as my physio described it to me the other week suffers this kind of politics more than most other areas. If there is a disagreement at a car parts yard or a cement layers business the actions are generally quite direct and quick. In the office world we appear to provide an environment where a punch up and a skinful or beer is not considered conducive to a harmonious working environment. And quite rightly so.

As a result of this mature approach we are actually creating a breeding ground for single minded, single problem definition and/or single perception people. It is like the air cooled/heated offices act as a giant Petri dish allowing this bacteria to blossom.

Considering the above, I have always wondered if this kind of person has a hidden agenda or some sort of underlying code of conduct that requires decrypting, a bit like the Da Vinci code I guess. Are they a freak wave in the corporate world? I have met very few people like this but the one that stands shall remain nameless in the blog at this stage.

Until such a time that I am ready to publish more on the subject I guess we have to make do with one final thought.

Not until you have been a victim do you really understand the ramifications of these actions. However, if you are prepared to stand up and challenge areas that you feel passionate about you’ll root out these personality types before too long. Once that objective is achieved, if you can’t win the argument, move on and find somewhere where you can influence and enjoy your work. I have met far too many people over the years who have spent years and years (quite literally) of their lives battling against these machines. Sometime you just need to know when to move on. I did.

Thanks for reading.
Lee.