I found this article on the Science Magazine website. It discusses how in every work place, in particular science related environments, not everyone will always get along with each other. It's a short article, but does a great job in covering the different kinds of difficult collegues you may come across in your career. Although it's not directly related to this class, interpersonal communication is an important contributing factor to the social process.
I found the following statement to be the most important part of the article: "If you learn how to cope with contrary colleagues early in your career, particularly in the competitive atmosphere of a lab, you will develop valuable coping and people-management skills that will serve you time and again, wherever your career path takes you."
Monday, January 28, 2008
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4 comments:
I found this article really interesting! I think every one of us has, at one time or another, been in a situation where you work as part of a group--and I'm sure at one point you realize how frustrating it can be sometimes. I like the quote that Shayna Miller believes to be important because I believe that there is truth in the statement. When you learn to endure frustrating situations or moments early on in life, you will acquire skills that will help you deal with any type of person you encounter. Once you learn how to communicate with all types of peoples' personalities, you will be able to handle any situation which is a useful trait/quality to have in life.
I think this article is extremely relevant. As Christie and Shayna pointed out it underscores the importance of being able to communicate with many different types of people. I find this fact to be particularly significant because science is such a collaborative process. If you are unable to work closely with a 'difficult colleague', you could miss opportunities to exchange valuable information or learn new concepts/techniques.
This article seemed to fit very well with discussions we have had in class. As well as what Christie said about acquiring communication skills that will help with handling any situation, working with colleagues is particularly important in science fields. I think because so many science professions are extremely competitive, its easy for people to forget the importance of working in a group. Even the people that are the most difficult to deal with may contribute unique and helpful ideas.
When I read this article, I immediately thought of Rainn Wilson’s character “Dwight” from The Office. I personally believe the Dwight embodies traits associated with several of the personalities described (such as “The Hornet” and the “Energizer”). I agree with Shayna, Sonja, and KM that this article is important in highlighting a situation that many college students and researchers face. Even at Cornell, I have had the privilege of working with Know-it-all as well as Woe-Is-Me lab partners. However, this article illustrates that even in the professional research field, not all researchers may get along. Finally, I liked the suggestions the article prescribed for dealing with such personalities. It is one thing to highlight a problem, but I thought this article was very comprehensive by offering solutions such as taking a peer aside for a chat, or simply offering neutral comments to a co-worker who constantly complains.
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