Dark sides of the active person
If in most cases, when you get a new task, you think more about the possibilities to do it at any cost, instead of looking for obstacles and the reasons why it cannot be fulfilled, then you, in my understanding, are an active person. While others think it is impossible, you are still looking for opportunities and finding them. But on the way to finding and implementing a solution in life, you can create tension between people. And this should be remembered when pursuing goals. And this is not about overcoming the wall, but about finding compromises, working solutions and synchronization with other people. There is a set of features that can create tension, and about it under the cut.
Being open and flexible for solutions, in my opinion, has two aspects. The first is obviously connected with the decision itself, for example, with the technical solution and the steps that are necessary to achieve a result. Another aspect is related to the attitude of the people involved in the work on the solution. The man-seeker seeks to focus on the first side and overlooks the second. This leads to the next triad of dark features. The problem with these traits is that you can run into them, even if you think you are smart enough to avoid them. All, of course, IMHO.
This is perhaps the main dark trait of an active person. As an interested person, you make considerable efforts to understand the problems that arise and find some solution. You brainstorm, put all the information in front of you, analyze every aspect you see, and try to fill in the gaps in your knowledge of the problem. At this stage it is impossible to involve everyone in this process, because it happens all the time while you are doing other tasks. At a certain stage, you understand that the decision may depend on other people. Therefore, as soon as you get enough information and find a solution, you initiate a discussion with all interested parties. During the meeting, you see how people tend to discuss things that you have already researched, evaluated, and found solutions. The things discussed are not always related to people, it can be a discussion about a technical solution that is much less complex and does not take into account some aspects.
At this moment you start falling in love with your decision. In fact, you do not become stubborn, or prejudiced, but you need facts that would prove that the solution you choose is not feasible. But other people do not give you these facts, they just do not like the idea, or they do not understand your facts, or they are not ready to make your decision at the moment. Further discussion may create tension. Thus, you literally do not fall in love with your decision, but you are not going to leave it, because you do not receive facts that could show that it does not work. Indeed, why should you accept a solution that is less efficient, more risky and does not take into account aspects that will appear next year?
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How would you prevent increasing tension? I think you should remember one rule: people do not like it when someone tells them what they need to do, and people like to work on ideas that are reflected in their souls. So instead of sharing a solution, it’s better to share your vision and let go of your decision. People will find the way they can and want to solve the problem.
In the example above, I touched another dark line that becomes especially obvious when you start discussing a solution. In short, people do not want to follow your decision, not because it is wrong. They are just not ready to accept it. This human factor can slip away from an active person, if you don’t give it attention intentionally. Different people have different levels of knowledge and skills, and, more importantly, a different range of problems that they are trying to solve.
First of all, people do not like change and they do not like to do something that they do not understand and do not agree with. In general, this is the very first "wall" that will have to break. Unfortunately, a simple presentation of the facts to people does not work here. Attitude, authority, time and way of speaking play, perhaps, an even more important role in overcoming this wall. If from the very beginning people don’t like a clever idea, they deny it. The difficulty is that more often than not you will not hear that someone disagrees with you. Instead, they will ask you why you think this idea is important. If you try to explain the idea, you will most likely be considered persistent and stubborn. Therefore, it turns out that I didn’t want to argue, but it arose by itself, because you began to explain the importance of the decision. Someone asked you "Why?", And means "I do not agree and do not want," you started to explain, because you heard "Why?", But you say, in fact, "You have to accept it, even if you I do not like". And the reason for such a strange dialogue is the rejection of the idea at the very beginning.
Regardless of how stupid such a dialogue may look, it often happens in life. Depending on the credibility of the speaker and the type of information, this phase of overcoming the wall occurs in different ways. People need time to think about the idea, to evaluate it from a different point of view, and after a while they can accept the idea if it solves their problems. During this period they go through phases such as anger and bargaining, until, ultimately, they will accept it.
You, as an active person, must first solve a problem that is not directly related to a technical solution. Remember the “know your audience” rule used in presentations. It also helps to find a solution and bring it to life. Before you find a solution, you need to understand what people will be affected and how they will respond to the idea first, whether the solution to their problem or bring new difficulties. Only after solving such issues related to a person can you start searching for a technical solution.
Remember, I talked about such factors as attitude, authority, time and way to talk. Another important factor is the type and amount of information you provide to the audience. Remember this rule all the time “know your audience.”
For example, you are planning a big change in the development process. This includes changes to the development teams and DevOps. As an active person, you made an assessment and prepared a “state of art” solution for this. After that you want to synchronize with the teams and present them the complete solution. The list of things to do includes elements not related to a specific team, but your idea is to give them a general appearance. Instead, you ultimately explain to them why they do not need it, but they see this item and why they need it, in general. Instead of just brainstorming ideas, you end up talking with the tension and the feeling that the idea is not supported.
The actual problem in the example is that the audience was overloaded with information. In a literal sense, if developers do not want to work on DevOps tasks, seeing them in the list will treat them like their tasks and mentally deny by asking the questions “Why do we need this?”, “What is the value?” And so on.
Remember the previous black line and divide the information according to the audience with which you represent it. This is rule number one. This can help with the presentation of information, as it will only show important points for people with whom you are discussing a solution. The difficulty is that regardless of the experience of the audience, they think that they are able to work and evaluate any amount of information, but this is far from reality. If they find that you are not giving the full picture, it will also be poorly perceived. But at the same time, you cannot always give a complete picture. Rule number two - slice the audience. You can give a complete picture if you combine all the relevant teams together.
Regardless of these traits, you must have the ability to throw away your idea. No matter how good it may be, it may turn out that time, people and conditions create an inappropriate moment to bring it to life. In this case, think about synergy and whether you are following your beliefs and principles, or trying to please the audience. The second is a short-term goal. The audience changes, its behavior changes, and you have to constantly change with it. The audience can change much faster than you expect, and you may end up in a situation of constant chase for its approval. The first is long-term goals. If you follow your principles and beliefs, then most likely you will achieve your goals, but you may need to leave people. Sometimes it is not easy, but you will need to make such a compromise. And the balance is always somewhere in the middle, there is no very unique and uniquely correct methods.
Being open and flexible for solutions, in my opinion, has two aspects. The first is obviously connected with the decision itself, for example, with the technical solution and the steps that are necessary to achieve a result. Another aspect is related to the attitude of the people involved in the work on the solution. The man-seeker seeks to focus on the first side and overlooks the second. This leads to the next triad of dark features. The problem with these traits is that you can run into them, even if you think you are smart enough to avoid them. All, of course, IMHO.
Love in the decision
This is perhaps the main dark trait of an active person. As an interested person, you make considerable efforts to understand the problems that arise and find some solution. You brainstorm, put all the information in front of you, analyze every aspect you see, and try to fill in the gaps in your knowledge of the problem. At this stage it is impossible to involve everyone in this process, because it happens all the time while you are doing other tasks. At a certain stage, you understand that the decision may depend on other people. Therefore, as soon as you get enough information and find a solution, you initiate a discussion with all interested parties. During the meeting, you see how people tend to discuss things that you have already researched, evaluated, and found solutions. The things discussed are not always related to people, it can be a discussion about a technical solution that is much less complex and does not take into account some aspects.
At this moment you start falling in love with your decision. In fact, you do not become stubborn, or prejudiced, but you need facts that would prove that the solution you choose is not feasible. But other people do not give you these facts, they just do not like the idea, or they do not understand your facts, or they are not ready to make your decision at the moment. Further discussion may create tension. Thus, you literally do not fall in love with your decision, but you are not going to leave it, because you do not receive facts that could show that it does not work. Indeed, why should you accept a solution that is less efficient, more risky and does not take into account aspects that will appear next year?
')
How would you prevent increasing tension? I think you should remember one rule: people do not like it when someone tells them what they need to do, and people like to work on ideas that are reflected in their souls. So instead of sharing a solution, it’s better to share your vision and let go of your decision. People will find the way they can and want to solve the problem.
Focusing on the decision itself
In the example above, I touched another dark line that becomes especially obvious when you start discussing a solution. In short, people do not want to follow your decision, not because it is wrong. They are just not ready to accept it. This human factor can slip away from an active person, if you don’t give it attention intentionally. Different people have different levels of knowledge and skills, and, more importantly, a different range of problems that they are trying to solve.
First of all, people do not like change and they do not like to do something that they do not understand and do not agree with. In general, this is the very first "wall" that will have to break. Unfortunately, a simple presentation of the facts to people does not work here. Attitude, authority, time and way of speaking play, perhaps, an even more important role in overcoming this wall. If from the very beginning people don’t like a clever idea, they deny it. The difficulty is that more often than not you will not hear that someone disagrees with you. Instead, they will ask you why you think this idea is important. If you try to explain the idea, you will most likely be considered persistent and stubborn. Therefore, it turns out that I didn’t want to argue, but it arose by itself, because you began to explain the importance of the decision. Someone asked you "Why?", And means "I do not agree and do not want," you started to explain, because you heard "Why?", But you say, in fact, "You have to accept it, even if you I do not like". And the reason for such a strange dialogue is the rejection of the idea at the very beginning.
Regardless of how stupid such a dialogue may look, it often happens in life. Depending on the credibility of the speaker and the type of information, this phase of overcoming the wall occurs in different ways. People need time to think about the idea, to evaluate it from a different point of view, and after a while they can accept the idea if it solves their problems. During this period they go through phases such as anger and bargaining, until, ultimately, they will accept it.
You, as an active person, must first solve a problem that is not directly related to a technical solution. Remember the “know your audience” rule used in presentations. It also helps to find a solution and bring it to life. Before you find a solution, you need to understand what people will be affected and how they will respond to the idea first, whether the solution to their problem or bring new difficulties. Only after solving such issues related to a person can you start searching for a technical solution.
Information overload
Remember, I talked about such factors as attitude, authority, time and way to talk. Another important factor is the type and amount of information you provide to the audience. Remember this rule all the time “know your audience.”
For example, you are planning a big change in the development process. This includes changes to the development teams and DevOps. As an active person, you made an assessment and prepared a “state of art” solution for this. After that you want to synchronize with the teams and present them the complete solution. The list of things to do includes elements not related to a specific team, but your idea is to give them a general appearance. Instead, you ultimately explain to them why they do not need it, but they see this item and why they need it, in general. Instead of just brainstorming ideas, you end up talking with the tension and the feeling that the idea is not supported.
The actual problem in the example is that the audience was overloaded with information. In a literal sense, if developers do not want to work on DevOps tasks, seeing them in the list will treat them like their tasks and mentally deny by asking the questions “Why do we need this?”, “What is the value?” And so on.
Remember the previous black line and divide the information according to the audience with which you represent it. This is rule number one. This can help with the presentation of information, as it will only show important points for people with whom you are discussing a solution. The difficulty is that regardless of the experience of the audience, they think that they are able to work and evaluate any amount of information, but this is far from reality. If they find that you are not giving the full picture, it will also be poorly perceived. But at the same time, you cannot always give a complete picture. Rule number two - slice the audience. You can give a complete picture if you combine all the relevant teams together.
Conclusion
Regardless of these traits, you must have the ability to throw away your idea. No matter how good it may be, it may turn out that time, people and conditions create an inappropriate moment to bring it to life. In this case, think about synergy and whether you are following your beliefs and principles, or trying to please the audience. The second is a short-term goal. The audience changes, its behavior changes, and you have to constantly change with it. The audience can change much faster than you expect, and you may end up in a situation of constant chase for its approval. The first is long-term goals. If you follow your principles and beliefs, then most likely you will achieve your goals, but you may need to leave people. Sometimes it is not easy, but you will need to make such a compromise. And the balance is always somewhere in the middle, there is no very unique and uniquely correct methods.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/435890/
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