Years ago I worked at Microsoft in an international role. I had a lot of dealings with US colleagues, and one thing that always puzzled me was how resistant they were to change or doing something differently.
That lasted until someone explained to me that in the US, the time is takes from a boss tells an employee he’s fired until the time, the employer is resolved from all obligations towards the unfortunate individual, is litterally the few seconds it takes to say “You’re fired”.
So when they resisted change, they were really just scared of potentially losing their jobs.
The experience made me realize that you always have to take a shot at trying to understand where the other side is coming from. Because while it can be super easy to get frustrated, there is usually an explanation behind it all; a context.
Sometimes it is even good and valid, and it always demands being treated with respect.
Does that mean that you should change the ways you think, the ideas you put forward and the way you see things being able to happen just to always suit the other side.
Not at all.
But it means you need to make sure that you don’t scare people off, so they jump to the wrong conclusions that could ultimately lead everything you’re working on astray.
(Photo: Pixabay.com)