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

["sbuckley" <sbuckley -at- onlinewriter -dot- com>]

One thing I've noticed over the years is that I haven't always had to fight
for respect.  Often I walk into a project and everything just works.  That's
lead me to focus on why some situations are more difficult.  I've found
people tend to be jerks for the following reasons:

A.	If their manager doesn't tell them they have to do something, they
won't do it (e.g., reviews).

B.	They don't know how to fit you into their workflow, because they
don't have one.

C.	They don't want their job documented, because they think they'll be
fired.

D.	They don't do their jobs well, and either blow off tasks they should
do and/or don't know what they are doing and, therefore, can't tell you
anything.

Problems A and B are the easiest to overcome, but it takes time.  The
processes laid out in the other emails in this thread are great places to
start.  During the transition to these processes, document everything
including interactions with the people who worked well with you.  Their
features will be documented better and it shows the problem with the other
features isn't just you and your work.

Problems C and D are much harder to overcome.  I've typically found C is
overcome as trust develops.  D is sometimes not a problem you can overcome
and is a red flag that it's time to move on in your career.

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+sbuckley=onlinewriter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+sbuckley=onlinewriter -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Gene Kim-Eng
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2006 8:51 AM
To: Dick Margulis; Poshedly, Ken
Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: R-E-S-P-E-C-T me! (Please!) -- Was RE: Gnaargh! Or,I Am Not
Psychic

Frankly, my response to this at this point in my life is,
"screw this."  If I am told when considering a job that part of
my work is going to involve being  an "evangelist" for tech
pubs and selling the organization on the value of delivering
its product with good documentation (and yes, I do ask), my
response is "thanks, but no thanks."  If an organization has
already made that connection and the question is "how do we
get good documentation?" then and only then do we have a
basis for a conversation about what I think we'll need to do
and whether they're willing to go the distance to make it
happen.  As a manager, my message to my team is "here is
what I want you to do, if anyone gets in your way come see
me and I will move them."  I expect exactly the same level
of support from my own manager, because without it I can't
provide it to my people, and if I don't get it, a parting of the
ways is inevitable.  Respect in a working organization is not
given, it is expected and demanded, and if there is any question
on the part of your higher-ups as to whether you have the
chops to have "earned it," they shouldn't have offered you the
job in the first place.

Gene Kim-Eng


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dick Margulis" <margulisd -at- comcast -dot- net>

> Respect is not given, it is earned. When you walk into a room with 
> people who, for one reason or another, do not automatically accord 
> respect to the individuals they encounter, you have to behave in a way 
> that forces them to respect you. You do this by, first of all, 
> respecting them. Second, you act like you know what you're doing and 
> know what you have to.

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