Manners maketh the career
For a short time after Uni I was involved in social work. After realising that I was now despised by all – clients, media, employers and public – I decided that I had better things to do with my time and left to become a qualitative researcher. The transition from public to private sector was a little challenging. I needed to lose the 9-5 thinking and adapt to a whole raft of different norms regarding competition and the like.
However, there is one pre-private sector principle that I continue to hold dear and that is the notion that a company should be based upon the realisation of mutual interest and co-operation rather than internal competition and back-stabbing. I still refer back to the original meaning of the word ‘company’ – a band of travellers on the road to somewhere who help each other to a shared goal and by working together achieve more than they might individually. I feel this is a good and noble thing.
When I am working with a client, I regard myself as temporarily part of that company. Helping them on the road is my task and mutual co-operation should be the order of the day. This, sadly, seems to be a minority view. Far more frequent are internal power struggles, micro-management of suppliers, power posturing on a pathetic scale and rarely any praise for one’s efforts (there are many reasons for all this but I will resist digression).
I think it is possibly a character fault in qualitative researchers that we are so ridiculously pleased by praise, but fault or not, I have found it to be true of myself and many others. For us, it is especially gratifying receive some acknowledgment, beyond the cheque – some human reaction suggesting that the blood sweated, weekends worked and night’s spent waking and scribbling insights are not in vain. And when those kind words are copied to colleagues, we become appreciated by an even wider audience.
It really doesn’t take much to acknowledge the efforts of those around us and it is so much more effective at producing the results that many ultra competitive execs desire. Instead of dissing, undermining or ignoring those you are working with, I suggest trying appreciation and watch how appreciated you become in turn.
Go on, thank a quali today.
