Cubicle-Fu

Selecting a team is part of every Cubicle Fu Master’s life, no matter where they are on the ladder. Whether a team for a side project, or just gathering the right people in a meeting, at some point you pick people who you trust at your side.

Most of us probably pick the shiniest baubles in the room: the good looking, always been successful, in great shape, nice teeth kind of people. These people are successful, so they probably know how to help you, right?

According to this article, “Why I never hire brilliant men,” the better pick is quite the opposite.

Why would you want to pick that guy or girl who was always last pick in high-school sports? At first glance, they’re awkward, and seem to have to put in more effort than others. Well, according to the article, it’s precisely because of that adversity that these are the men and women you want on your project team today. These are the people who have had to work hard through adversity (read: getting bullied in high-school) to get where they are. Someone like this will look past obstacles and plan their success, rather than breaking down when it’s not handed to them.

Success, it seems, is not built by the few bright stars, but by the of hordes of colorful “ordinary” people who know the value of a day’s work. This is your dream team.

You depend on you

Think about it this way: if you didn’t exist, you wouldn’t have issues. Put another way, when you have a communication breakdown at work, there is likely a shift or request you can make to change it, as opposed to depending on others to change for you.

But they said they’d change!

That’s all well and good, but if you’re counting on someone else to keep watch on your state of being, even if they’re Ghandi you’re going to be disappointed

So What do I do when someone at work keeps getting in my way?

Step 1: Find the real issue (hint: it’s usually a feeling). Every time I go to “I’m not happy because he… or she…” then I’m relying on my coworker to stop being them. Risky business at best. What I can do, is see what I can change so I don’t have to end up in situations that frustrate me. In my case, I recently noticed that I just don’t enjoy being in a role where I’m managing this particular team. In fact, when I realized that, I looked back and saw that I don’t really like middle managing in any corporate environment. Now I can not take jobs that require that, and I wouldn’t have figured it out if I kept pointing fingers.

Step 2: Redefine what success means. Find a solution that exists, or one that doesn’t. In my case, there really isn’t a role that is management-free on my team, so I looked at the available work and realized I’d be really happy if I could just do the doing and have other people plan. What?! That’s like asking to never be promoted. Well, I discovered that I feel successful and happy when I am doing fun stuff. Great! Now I know both what I don’t want, and what I do want.

Step 3: Ask for what you want! If you don’t ask for what you want, then you are guaranteed not to get it. I told my boss I feel extraneous and frustrated in meetings, and suggested that I let the team leads make decisions and give me creative work to keep me busy. Turns out, he thought it was a fine idea. “But what if he doesn’t?” Ask him if he has any solutions. Get him thinking for you.

Quitting is always an option. You can read Tim Ferris’ “The Four-Hour Workweek” to figure out how to quit.

Step 4: Follow through. If you asked for it, and you said it would be good, do your best to make it so. If you ask to telecommute and just take a vacation, then you deserve to lose your job. If you say you’ll do something, just do it. It will give you the best case to ask for more, now that your boss sees that you have creative ideas that work.