Most Important Things I've Learned at Work
Grad school is only a few weeks away now and the transition presents itself as a good opportunity to reflect on my brief stint in industry and to set some new goals for my adventure into academia. I wanted to make a list of some of the most important lessons I've learned while working, in the hopes that I can make a conscious effort to apply them when I go back to school. Joining a new community is often a good time for reinventing yourself, and I don't want to miss the opportunity if I can help it.
Never fight back in anger. There have been plenty of times when I've felt that someone has insulted me, slighted me, dumped work on me or tried to blame me for something that wasn't my fault. When this happens my natural instinct has always been to fight back with a biting comment of my own or to take a reticent, uncooperative attitude towards the other person. But I am pretty sure that there is NEVER a time where that is the right thing or the advantageous thing to do. Inevitably, I find out that I didn't fully understand the situation, or that the person who was insulting me was going through some difficult issues in their personal life, or that I really did make that mistake. Even if my anger is justified, by choosing to take a peaceful, kinder response helps to diffuse the situation and move the team forwards towards a productive outcome.
Always be building your "social goodwill" bank account. I was introduced to the concept of a "social goodwill" bank account in a training session at work. The idea is that your daily interactions with others can build up a sense of goodwill between you and your coworkers if you are kind, attentive and positive. When people have spent months working with you and they know you as someone who is a good listener or a good helper or a good resource, you build up social goodwill with them. And if you ever get stuck in a problem where you need the help of your coworkers, they will be more willing to help you if you have built up this social goodwill with them. I know this is an obvious variation of the Golden Rule, but the idea that all of your interactions with your coworkers can help to build trust and rapport is important. This rule drives me to take care of myself and to be conscious about bringing a positive and caring attitude to the workplace.
Always be kind. This relates a lot to #3 - basically, I have never found a justification for not being kind to someone else. That doesn't mean I've never been rude or dismissive of others, but I have felt guilty afterwards. I am learning that the way I treat others should not be dependent on how they treat me - it should be dependent on what I believe is morally the right thing to do. The way we treat others is a reflection of ourselves. I want to be a good person, and so I am trying to remember that being a good person means always treating others with kindness and respect, even when we may not feel that they deserve it from us. Moreover, you never know when your paths will cross again - you never want to burn a bridge with someone else.
Relentlessly ask questions. This is important for so many reasons. You should always ask questions to clarify if you don't understand something; it is by far a better course of action than pretending you understand something. You want others to trust that you mean it when you say you understand something, and you want them to trust that if you don't understand something that you will continue to ask questions until you do understand it. Not communicating your confusion to others can be a fatal mistake in business. Asking questions also means looking up words that you don't know, asking what abbreviations mean, and digging into why people hesitate when they talk or why they said something you weren't expecting. Always look for clues and cues that indicate there are other things going on beneath the surface.