I like most people. I’m not shy. I have anxiety, but when it comes to being around people, it’s more likely to be triggered by having to get to wherever I’m supposed to go than it is by the event itself.
And yet, as the most introverted person I know, I strongly prefer to work on my own. Collaborating is great, but when it comes to producing I’d rather work it out on my own. That’s not a knock on anyone I’ve ever worked with; it’s a personal preference.
I’m taking a (required) class right now that’s about 2/3 group work. My colleagues are all super smart, observant, and engaged, and I’m learning a lot from their perspectives. For one of the projects, each conversation we have deepens my understanding of the project in important ways. So it’s going pretty well, so far. I’m lucky to get to work with these folks. I have no complaints.
I still hate group work. It’s a lot of meetings. When you’re working with two different groups of people, you’re having to figure out a lot of different schedules. We’re making it work, but I suspect it’s not easy for any of us.
In addition to all of the group work, this class is focused on library management. Budgets, planning, communication, management issues, case studies. Gross. It makes my head swim. Ugh.
That’s not to say that I think these topics aren’t important, or aren’t worthy of study. Management is an underrated skill that (I believe) most organizations really suck at. I’ve worked for a couple of stellar managers, but they’re rare. I’ve also had managers (and managers of managers) that have been really bad at it (they’re usually the ones that have been elevated beyond their skills — I got the sense that with some of them, they were elevated because senior management didn’t know what else to do with them). Really great managers possess talent and skill that is specific to that task. Subject matter expertise might be valuable, but management skills exist apart from it. Most of us not only lack the training to be good managers, we lack the talent. I suspect you can be a reasonable manager with training -or- talent, but not if you lack both. Being a good manager also requires a strong sense of self-awareness, and amazing communication skills. Skill, talent, emotional intelligence and communication skills… that’s a lot, and not many of us have that combination of traits… sad, but true.
The other bit of squidgy-ness I get from the topic is that I feel like the study of management attracts a certain personality, one that is really good at case studies. Problem is, case studies are not real life. Hypotheticals are so much easier to manage than reality. Newsflash: being good at working through case studies is not an indicator of your skill as a manager.
So yeah, sure, management issues are worthy of study, but it would probably be just as beneficial if we all went to therapy and figured out how to effectively communicate our situations, and then learned how to work together to figure out solutions that, while they are acceptable to everyone, may make very few people happy.
And also, learned to read a balance sheet, got a reasonable handle on employment law, and learned to treat our colleagues and subordinates as, you know, people.
So that’s that, for now. I’m looking forward to putting this class (the content, not the people) in the rear view mirror.
Otherwise, still doing bird things. Still working on figuring out where illustration and nature journaling fit into my existence. Learning ASL. Doing some yoga, cooking… you know, the usual.
Carmen Yount 
