Everything I need to know about dealing with people, I learned last week.
Education is the cure for everything—the ‘pill for every ill’. Every problem, every challenge dissolves when we learn our lesson; we only grow through learning. Sometimes it’s a new skill or a new way of relating to something or someone, a new way of acting, figuring out what to do and what not to do, what to say or not to say, what’s important and what isn’t. Any progress, any accomplishment, any strides or changes we make only come through learning.
Smart vs. Wise
How many times have you seen someone—maybe yourself—make the same mistake over and over and over? When we finally learn our lesson and break the pattern, that’s when we take what we learned and actually use it…and that is WISDOM.
Nowhere is this pattern more evident than in the workplace. Knowing how to treat people, manage people, read people, even endure people makes for a peaceful and more productive work environment. Knowing why someone acts or reacts the way they do and knowing how to respond diffuses tension and restores peace to the office. In fact, the better one’s people skills, the more highly he or she is paid, and the quicker the individual moves into a leadership role (Note: I didn’t say management).
Hard-won Wisdom
The truth is, this post actually started as a tongue-in-cheek tirade in my journal about the events of the last week in our office, hence the subtitle. Not one, not two, but three run-ins with co-workers had me reeling with anger. Each encounter could be justified (from my point of view) and I was absolutely sure I was right in each situation. But, looking back on the week I saw a pattern—a pattern of me not remembering some basic truths about people and instead letting myself get carried away into complete unprofessionalism.
Over the next few weeks I will share with you some of the ‘tried and true-isms’ I forgot last week and few more. These are surefire ways to improve your people skills and become a more valuable employee. How did I come to have all this wisdom? Just a long, hard process of elimination. So remember: Smart people learn from their own mistakes. Wise people learn from others’.
Until next time!
Education is the cure for everything—the ‘pill for every ill’. Every problem, every challenge dissolves when we learn our lesson; we only grow through learning. Sometimes it’s a new skill or a new way of relating to something or someone, a new way of acting, figuring out what to do and what not to do, what to say or not to say, what’s important and what isn’t. Any progress, any accomplishment, any strides or changes we make only come through learning.
Smart vs. Wise
How many times have you seen someone—maybe yourself—make the same mistake over and over and over? When we finally learn our lesson and break the pattern, that’s when we take what we learned and actually use it…and that is WISDOM.
Nowhere is this pattern more evident than in the workplace. Knowing how to treat people, manage people, read people, even endure people makes for a peaceful and more productive work environment. Knowing why someone acts or reacts the way they do and knowing how to respond diffuses tension and restores peace to the office. In fact, the better one’s people skills, the more highly he or she is paid, and the quicker the individual moves into a leadership role (Note: I didn’t say management).
Hard-won Wisdom
The truth is, this post actually started as a tongue-in-cheek tirade in my journal about the events of the last week in our office, hence the subtitle. Not one, not two, but three run-ins with co-workers had me reeling with anger. Each encounter could be justified (from my point of view) and I was absolutely sure I was right in each situation. But, looking back on the week I saw a pattern—a pattern of me not remembering some basic truths about people and instead letting myself get carried away into complete unprofessionalism.
Over the next few weeks I will share with you some of the ‘tried and true-isms’ I forgot last week and few more. These are surefire ways to improve your people skills and become a more valuable employee. How did I come to have all this wisdom? Just a long, hard process of elimination. So remember: Smart people learn from their own mistakes. Wise people learn from others’.
Until next time!
