How to Get On With Your Colleagues by The School of Life

Author:The School of Life
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
ISBN: 0000000000000
Published: 2020-10-24T08:27:03+00:00

i. A character study

They are at one level reassuring figures. They can be relied upon to keep the budget under control; they are conscientious with officialdom, excellent at time management and well organised around regulations. They won’t let a financial or procedural problem fester without letting a more senior person know; if anything, they may be too often inclined to seek clarification from the top even on small matters. They’re interested in filing and forms, and have an appetite for reading the latest rules about industry standards.

However, the excessive nature of their caution comes through at many points: in meetings when new initiatives are being proposed, they habitually cite past disasters and remind people of errors of judgement that others (long since departed) once made. They work hard, from the best of motives, to undermine any feelings of excitement or spontaneity in any room they are in. One of their favourite phrases is ‘that won’t work’. At times, they almost give the impression that they would be pleased if certain things turned out badly. Given their attitude, colleagues generally end up going behind their backs, or trying to bypass them, rather than see their more expansive ideas ground down and quietly destroyed.

The naysayer is also resistant to change. The traditional way of doing things is always better. They can’t see why it would be important to alter the desk layouts, the timing of the Wednesday meeting or the way that client enquiries are dealt with. They see themselves as the guardians of the way the company used to be in nebulously defined ‘olden times’.

What the naysayer is essentially saying ‘no’ to in many different ways and in a variety of contexts is hope, because they are allergic to the risk that hope can entail. They are trying to disappoint themselves before the world has a chance to do it for them at a time of its own choosing. Strangely, in the process of trying to rein in risk, they create quite a few dangers for themselves. They succeed in frustrating many of their colleagues. It’s hard to know how safe their position really is.

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