Knowing People

I recently posted about the dynamics between engineers and geologists (Gaggle of Dykes). It can be quite a difficult work relationship to maintain, but definitely worth the effort.

I am changing jobs at the moment - not drastically. I'll still be a mining geologist at a coal mine, but I'll have more responsibility. The entire geology function will be mine and I'll report almost directly to the mine manager. This in itself is a bit daunting - I've always had a more senior geologist as a buffer between me and the higher management. This won't be the case anymore. The responsibility and accountability will lie with me.

Geez! I already sound like a manager! I made my friends promise me that they'll let me know when I turn into a full-blown manager who uses words like challenge, opportunity, alignment and leadership in every sentence. They are instructed to slap me back to reality :-).

I'm quite excited about the new job. It will be my mine and I will be able to make decisions and follow them through. Also, as I've been handing over to my replacement, I had a slight ego boost when I realized how much I actually know about coal geology and mining. But, knowledge will only get you so far. You can be the best geologist on the planet, but if you cannot communicate or work with people, you might as well stay underground.

Understanding people is probably 70% of the job. Of course you have to know what you're doing, but if you can't convey your opinions in the right way to the right people, nothing will get done and you'll end up very frustrated. I've seen how people can block others simply because they don't care for them much or because they don't understand how they work.

Luckily one of my many skills is people :-D. I've never realized how valuable such skills can be and I'm definitely not an expert, but making people laugh and listening to them does help to make the work go faster and easier. And if all else fails, chocolates and beer have always been known to help any relationship :-).