Worknow_Aotearoa_NZ

Independence vs Collaboration

I will always value my independence and my ability to make things happen but in the past my strong willed independence was one of my greatest weaknesses. As a gifted young person, my attitude to achieving goals was always self determined, borderline egotistical and admittedly I believed that “…if you want something done right, do it yourself…”

However, in retrospect this philosophy perpetuated a self-delusion. It did not help me expand my talent and although I was nearly always (99.98%) able to achieve my desired outcome I now recognise that in being so “independent” I was isolating myself and limiting what could have otherwise been achieved through collaboration with others.

There were unique characteristics holding New Zealand’s [entrepreneurial] development back, such as reluctantance to look for help and build a team. Source

In Collaboration with Talented Other’s

Recognising that every single person has talents which can add value for myself and others is fundamental to the development of Worknow. Time Trade especially is designed to recognise and highlight the fact that we all have talents that are of value to each other and our communities.

Today’s networking tools have created an environment where communication, collaboration and coordination are becoming second nature. They need simply be applied in our real life communities to make it quicker and easier to get work done.

No longer limited by time or place or disadvantaged by the costs of travel, the concept of using networking tools to facilitate collaboration begins a paradigm shift in the way we think about and accomplish work.

Recognise Weakness; Work to your Strengths

Yet despite knowing and believing that I need the help of other’s I still sometimes lack the patience and skill to just listen and hear people out. Instead, I sometimes find myself, forming replies in my mind rather than actively listening.

So when a friend replied to a similar statement I made about myself with “…it’s good that you see that because I see it as one of your weaknesses…” and launched into a conversation about why and how I should change, I opted to just let him speak, I bit my tongue and I let him tell me things I already knew about myself (oh you noticed that did you, well done) and voila! I gained this insight:-

It will always be more important to recognise people on the basis of their talents rather than their weaknesses

On the topic of you, trust yourself.

Constructive criticism has its place but we could easily spend too much time attempting to overcome weakness that are simply the shadow of our strengths. We all have faults and in the main we probably recognise them. Doing something about them is not meant to be easy but a good place to begin is simply being conscious of them and making changes where we can.

If you focus too much on mitigating faults you lose time wherein you could be building upon your strengths. I may never stop that childish know-it-all voice that thinks “…I know what you’re saying….” but I can ignore it, hold my tongue and in hearing people out perhaps gain insight to help me expand my talents.