Throughout my career, I have learned to appreciate and respect everyone in a company. ALL - industrial designers, sales, accounting, purchasing, production, shipping and receiving, material handling, schedulers, BOM specialists, document control, all levels of supervisors and managers, human resources, receptionists... Everyone has an important role in the company, and I appreciate and respect the work they do.
However, early in my career, I fell into the trap of pointing downstream and upstream at all of the problems. "they are not giving me what I need!", "they are not doing what I asked!" This is common in the workplace, and once I corrected it, I realized other people in the company were also doing it. This is bad for business!!
It was at the moment I realized this about myself that I feel I was really able to grow and learn in the company. It was then that I was able to correct my problems and focus on becoming a better me. If there were any real problems upstream or downstream, complaining about it did nothing to correct it. I needed to correct myself first, then work as a team player with everyone else... and that is what I did.
By the way, the shift in me started after reading:
QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: What to Really Ask Yourself to Eliminate Blame
If you do the same, based on my experience, here will be your results:
The first thing you will notice about this approach, everyone will start treating you better. Could it be that those interoffice conflicts and conflicts with other departments were brought on by you? Well, from my experience, YES!
The second thing is that your earlier perceptions of the problems that existed were false. Sure there are problems, but they are usually fairly minor, and certainly fixable.
The third thing you will notice after this new found mental freedom, there are many people in the organization that are already working this way. There are so many people in any organization that are there to provide that company a service and treat everyone with respect.
The fourth, and most important to me, your work will improve... drastically! That will be primarily due to the change in attitude, but it will also be because you will be listening more and learning from those around you. That is almost impossible to do when you feel that you are always right, and everyone else is a always wrong.
Having a bad attitude and treating your teammates poorly is not only bad for you and your life, it affects people around you and most importantly, it is really bad for your business. Be there to make your company succeed! Be a strong and positive team player. Watch how it affects your life, your work, people around you, and your company!