Uggh...

One of the things I really struggle with in my professional worlds is dealing with people's personalities and emotions. I tend to think that I can handle most other aspects of business fairly well. I've got good logic and organizational skills, and I do well at prioritizing tasks. But, perhaps it is the engineer in me that makes it hard for me to understand and fathom at times how emotions and personalities play into it.

The one that gets me the most is "it's not fair!" In my "for-profit" world, I have a unique skill set that I bring to the table. Among them is a good sense of working with customers directly, in a courteous and professional manner (something rare among engineers). Add in a lot of experience in my industry from both customer and manufacturer points of view, willingness to travel and work odd hours, and I think I am a valuable asset to my company. Senior management thinks so, too. But several of the other engineers in the company just don't understand. They think that since I am not sitting at the drafting board at 7:00 in the evening, that I'm not pulling my fair share of the load. Of course, these are some of the same folks who complain about everything and refuse to do anything to better themselves - but that's another topic for another day. I'm sorry, but life is not fair. There are plenty of folks that have different job responsibilities and perks than I do. Instead of complaining that I am not getting treated the same as them, I make sure that I am meeting my responsibilities and make the best of my own situation. So far, it's worked pretty darn well on my end. But the other engineers are increasingly making their sour-grapes voices heard, which makes me feel like I'm earning a bad repuation through no fault of my own. And I just don't know how to deal with it effectively.

The other thing that I can not deal with is stubborness. You know what I am talking about: you tell the same person the same thing day after day, week after week, and they refuse to "get it." I have a particular situation where, in this position, I have a view of the "big picture" of everything that is going on. This big picture, as it turns out (like most things), is comprised of a whole lot of smaller, unique parts. Each part has its own unique function, and together these parts make a well-oiled, successful machine. But one of these parts thinks they should be able to do what some of the other parts are doing, and that seriously upsets the apple cart. And, no matter how many times you tell this "part" what the goals and assignments are, this part continues to do its own thing and that of the others. And I just don't know how to deal with it effectively.

Maybe this is why I'm losing my hair...