[BC] Dealing with the brain challeged

[Jeff Glass]

In a message dated 4/4/2010 8:00:24 AM Central Daylight Time, broadcast-request at radiolists.net writes:

>say this after 39 years as an engineer in both radio and TV. I have felt
>the situation above personally at times too. Even so, sometime people tend
>to forget that they are part of a team effort and this kind of thing
>happens. I'm sure it can happen in other departments too.

>Bill

If some engineers seem relegated to the back room, etc., then a little bit of basic interpersonal skills would go a long way. Such as, the engineer making his rounds and asking other people about their work; people love talking about themselves. That is not a bad thing.

People by nature are social We bounce pack and fourth between autonomy and social interaction we can't live without either one. So it could be that other people around the station don't know how to even start a conversation with an engineer without it beginning with an equipment complaint.

Rapport building goes a long way. Some engineers are good at that, and some are not. Get the staff involved in some of your smaller decisions and not just when you're rebuilding a studio. The idea is to let the other staffers know you care, and that you are sincere about taking a meaningful place on the team.

Show your staff that you are "normal" in that you are concerned about the same things as everyone else. When you come in to work in the morning, do you go flying by the receptionist like you have a rocket motor in your butt, or do you stop and chat about something they can relate to?  Take the time to chat with everyone when/if you can. Some people you won't see very often.

I've told people with which I have the appropriate personal rapport, that engineering is what I do; it is not who I am.  We all need to understand human nature first, practice it, and then work our professional skill to the best of our ability. Based on what I have seen, this is how most other departments function as well.

It's not a matter of fitting in. It's more a question of whether or not we care to interrelate with others on a level of commonality.

Jeff Glass
Northern Illinois University