Attributes
I have yet another trainee/partner at work. This one's my age, has a compatible sense of humor and is from West Virginia. He and I have been having a good ol' time driving our third partner up the wall by being mildly outrageous. At least to us West Virginia boys, it's mild. I'm not sure what her southern sensibilities think of it all.
But here's something that's a little odd. I don't know if he's just trying to make friends with me (done, in my estimation), he's just like this (odd, if so) or trying to butter me up (useless, but good for my ego), but he told me the other day that I have a good voice for giving orders.
That needs a little backstory, I guess. You see, I've had some bad experiences over the years with telling my less experienced partners to do something. Part of it is on them, I suppose, but I take a lot of responsibility on myself. I just sound pushy, I think. Anywho, recently, I've tried to cultivate a more subtle, laid-back approach. Needless to say, this is NOT something that comes easily to me. Essentially, I tell my newbs ... er ... less experienced co-workers that there's something that needs done, and if they have the time, it would be a good thing to work on. If not, that's fine, we'll get to it later. Etc. etc. etc. It seems to work well with a certain type of person, and right now, I'm working with two of them. It has the advantage of not SOUNDING like an order, and leaving things open-ended in case they're busier than I thought they were. For some reason, newbs have a hard time telling me that they've got work stacked to ceiling and I'm blind not to see it. I don't know why.
Anyway, my newest partner said that I have a good voice for giving orders. I just grunted and said something non-committal. I didn't want to seem rude, since he was probably trying to give me a compliment. But see, here's the thing. Having the voice to give orders isn't anywhere near as important as having the wisdom necessary to give GOOD orders. And that's something I don't think I have.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
We'll see, I suppose.
But here's something that's a little odd. I don't know if he's just trying to make friends with me (done, in my estimation), he's just like this (odd, if so) or trying to butter me up (useless, but good for my ego), but he told me the other day that I have a good voice for giving orders.
That needs a little backstory, I guess. You see, I've had some bad experiences over the years with telling my less experienced partners to do something. Part of it is on them, I suppose, but I take a lot of responsibility on myself. I just sound pushy, I think. Anywho, recently, I've tried to cultivate a more subtle, laid-back approach. Needless to say, this is NOT something that comes easily to me. Essentially, I tell my newbs ... er ... less experienced co-workers that there's something that needs done, and if they have the time, it would be a good thing to work on. If not, that's fine, we'll get to it later. Etc. etc. etc. It seems to work well with a certain type of person, and right now, I'm working with two of them. It has the advantage of not SOUNDING like an order, and leaving things open-ended in case they're busier than I thought they were. For some reason, newbs have a hard time telling me that they've got work stacked to ceiling and I'm blind not to see it. I don't know why.
Anyway, my newest partner said that I have a good voice for giving orders. I just grunted and said something non-committal. I didn't want to seem rude, since he was probably trying to give me a compliment. But see, here's the thing. Having the voice to give orders isn't anywhere near as important as having the wisdom necessary to give GOOD orders. And that's something I don't think I have.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
We'll see, I suppose.
Labels: Introspection, Work
posted by Coralius at 7/27/2008
4 Comments:
It's all those years practicing saying, "Make it so" in the mirror.
Anyway, you're now going to be forced to introduce us to newbie. We must expand the collective.
Now, now. You know it was "Engage!", not "Make it so!". :)
Heh. True enough.
You realize I'm going to have to do a full-fledged post on inhabited bridges since you left that smart-ass remark over my way, right?
Absolutely.
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