R-E-S-P-E-C-T me! (Please!)?

Subject: R-E-S-P-E-C-T me! (Please!)?
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>, Ken Poshedly <PoshedlyK -at- polysius -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 12:18:18 -0400

Ken Poshedly wondered: <<Unfortunately, Sarah's rant and many of the subsequent follow-ups underscore once more the lack of respect our profession receives from those outside.>>

It's worth noting that no professions is inherently deserving of respect. Only people are, and professions that routinely produce people who are worthy of our respect are seen as respectable professions. As you note:

<<many, many of us have overcome this sorry state of affairs and maintain good and proper working relationships with our subjectmatter experts (SME's).>>

And with managers, including (in two of my previous jobs) some at the utmost pinnacle of the organization. Much though we may wish for someone (STC, for instance) to hire a magician to instantaneously transform the image of our profession and to provide managers with a clue, it ain't gonna happen. Among other things, it only takes a few bad apples to poison the environment against us, and no profession is free of such characters.

The unfortunate reality is that at each new job, we're likely to have to demonstrate conclusively to our new colleagues that we're worthy of respect. Nobody can do this for us. The fortunate reality is that if you have reasonable people skills, this isn't particularly hard to do. You just need to remember to make it part of your daily routine.

<<But the mere fact that newcomers or relative newbies experience this problem shows how little consideration is given to those who explain to the great unwashed HOW and WHY things work.>>

I'm something of a misanthrope (though I hide it well <g>), and suspect that many people out there have been burned so often that they simply treat all newcomers as suspect until proven otherwise. It's our job to provide the good example that helps change these attitudes.

<<Nobody disses attorneys, MD's and various other professionals.>>

Oh really? There are probably more nasty lawyer jokes out there than any other kind of humor, doctors are similarly dissed all the time by comics--and more seriously, by patients--priests are in the news for a wide range of bad reasons, and on and on. "Management consultants" as a class are roundly mocked, yet they can still ask for and get kilobucks per day in consulting fees. It's human nature to generalize from specific examples, and there are enough bad examples in any profession that nobody is immune to criticism.

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Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca

(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)

www.geoff-hart.com

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Follow-Ups:

References:
R-E-S-P-E-C-T me! (Please!) -- Was RE: Gnaargh! Or, I Am Not Psychic: From: Poshedly, Ken

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