It's the small things

So today we've just received feedback from one of our major clients about a work done last week. You see the deadline was short and the work was considerable. I was aided by two of my colleagues who had a lot to do on their side but happily offered/agreed to help when asked. I was quite nervous on this job, being a control freak I wanted to control every aspect of it. But soon I decided to trust them and let them do it their way. The result was good. They did a great job, they felt free. I was relieved on some of the tasks and could really focus on my share. In the end the feedback received from the client was very good. So I felt like sharing some of the stuff I've learnt on this one.

1. Trust
Don't try to control everything. Granted it's your project and you would be the most accountable for it but people work better when they are not under pressure.

2. Preserve some humility
Don't go about bossing other people. Remain humble and thank them at each stage of the work. They are doing you a favour by collaborating on your project.

3. Make them feel valued
I'm not saying that they are not valuable in the first place. What you need to do is to show them how valuable they are to you. This will provide a boost for them to perform to their best. To make you feel proud in a sense.


I've always compared professional synergy to a romantic relationship. You gotta make people feel loved and cared for to make it work. That's no rocket science, it's just plain human relations.

Kindly, best regards

For the past seven months, I have been caught up. I still am. You see since January, I have been assigned to the Emirates branch of my organisation. Prospects seem good, but the thing is days are getting quite hectic. I got caught up in this sort of corporate mode of survival whereby you do anything in your power to be as effective as possible. At first I was resisting, I still am, but in a lot more intelligent fashion. Marx spoke about alienation of the human being at work, you are not yourself. The scary thing is that I am myself (at least a part of myself) when I am at work. I hate to admit it, but I love performing effectively. I love respecting our ISO standards and having everything planned out. It makes you feel in control. And suddenly I have become more demanding of others. I require that new hires be extremely attentive to details and rigorous. I require that they understand exactly what is at stake. This can't be good. I feel like I am betraying the person I used to be 3 years ago...