On teams and cowboys
CCC crew using horse teams for road construction, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington, originally uploaded by Oregon State University Archives.
I’ve always liken my line of work (Info Tech) to the wild west. It’s getting less so these days, as processes and procedures get formalized, but working as a consultant was always a little bit more cowboy than working for a mega-corp. I don’t generally do well with mega-corps, since I’m more of a wrangler, a loner, an outsider and pretty spirited. And willful.
But there’s something to be said for working on a team, especially a team that gels well together. And there’s something really special about working where I work, since peeps here really gel better than any other team I’ve worked on. I do feel like I’m at a small company, which is keen. It almost feel familial, with a sense that we all love what we do and what it is.
Sometimes, I do need to remember that to be a good advocate, persuasion works better than striking out on your own horse in a puff of smoke. And this environment feels right to learn that one.
I especially like evenings like tonight, when a problem surfaces and a few people scattered across the globe all pitch in to diagnose, troubleshoot, and fix the problem. And, as a team, it’s done with humor (sometimes cowboy crass humor, which is great), careful urgency, and a regard to make it right.
Those moments count, and I’m learning to embrace the team, not rebel against it. It’s more fun than going it alone, too.
On FriendFeed, this post was liked by 0 people and commented on 0 times show