Image source: Wikimedia commons
It is said that when a person is really keen on learning new things, he starts to pick up knowledge and information from every source available to him. It could be his elders, friends, spouse, children, boss, and even his coworkers.
Our colleagues at work are the people with whom we spend the most part of our (wakeful) day. Because we spend an awful lot of time with them, we’re bound to interact with them, learn from them, and adopt some of their traits.
Mentioned ahead are 6 different types of colleagues you’ll find at your workplace and the qualities worth imbibing from them.
The Newbie
The newbie is the colleague who has either just joined your organization or has just started his first job. Yes, he is the wide-eyed coworker who seems excited and jittery at the same time. He’s always looking to please everyone in an attempt to fit in, is ever-ready to help out, and has several questions up his sleeve.
He, typically, enjoys working under a mentor who guides him on the way to becoming what he set out to be.
What You Can Learn from Him –
This colleague will, in all probability, take you back to your days when you were an enthusiastic newbie, always eager to learn new tricks of the trade. How about igniting that curiosity again and bringing some excitement into your professional life?
Try and approach your work with a new perspective and new ideas, bring back your passion and use it to better the quality of your work.
The Trustworthy One
This is the person your boss would trust his most confidential information with. He spends a lot of time with the boss and is called upon by him for almost all the important meetings. He’s been in the firm since many years and has garnered immense goodwill at all levels of the organization.
What You Can Learn from Him –
Earning trust takes time. It is built on successful collaborating, joint risk-taking, and working together in tandem. It needs to be nurtured. Be truthful and consistent in your work and behavior and over time, you will be successful in winning the trust of your bosses. Make sure there’s no room for a bad experience as it only takes one of that for the trust to break forever.
The Multi-Talented One
This colleague is the proverbial ‘Jack of all trades.’ He will possess more than one important skill and will happily demonstrate it as and when the need arises. He’s updated with the latest in everything there is to know about, and others would think ten times before blabbering pointlessly in his presence. He’s popular with his peers and subordinates, and also in the good books of the boss.
What You Can Learn from Him –
Improvising and upgrading your skills and knowledge is a great thing. Do what you can to augment and polish the skills you already have, try to be the best at what you do, broaden your horizons by taking on more and varied tasks than what falls in your purview, and have more than one skill set.
Remember, the more you know and can do, the greater value you hold for your team and the organization as a whole.
The Humorous One
The humorous colleague is the one you turn to during stressful situations. He can lighten up the work atmosphere and make office hours easier and joyful. He has the ability to turn potentially embarrassing and scary situations into light-hearted laughing matters. His presence goes a long way in letting you and your other colleagues bond and keep the work environment healthy.
What You Can Learn from Him –
A good sense of humor can help you achieve a comfortable camaraderie with those around you and make work much more fun. Plus, apart from being good at what you do, it is always great to bring some relief into the high-impact office environment.
The Perfectionist
The perfectionist always wants to do the given assignment to the best of his ability and may even walk the extra mile to achieve his standards of perfection. He does so, not because he’s ambitious, but because it is in his nature to either love something or simply hate it. There’s no ‘middle.’ He does not submit assignments until he’s completely satisfied with its quality. Not a keen team player, he believes that if he wants something done right, he has to do it himself.
What You Can Learn from Him –
It never hurt anyone to turn in a perfectly-executed assignment. In fact, it only makes the clients and the boss happy. Paying attention to the details and not leaving any loose ends, as long as it is done under the specified deadline, will ensure that you consistently deliver high-quality work.
The Eternal Optimist
The optimistic colleague is the one who is ever-so-hopeful, even in the most dejecting of situations. He truly believes that there is nothing that he/his team cannot do. He manages to see the positive even in failures and disappointing results. He’s like the silver lining hidden in a dark cloud. He’s great for the team morale.
What You Can Learn from Him –
Wouldn’t it be great if, like the ray of sunshine on a cold rainy day, you are able to provide your team with support and encouragement when the chips are down? You can make working in a team more fun. Your attitude will help you build a team, which is more likely to stand up to challenges and face them, rather than give up easily.
Conclusion
It takes all kinds of people to make a workplace. Your colleagues are bound to be different from each other. Some will be pleasant and fun-loving, others will be focused and driven, while a few will be annoying and difficult to deal with. Knowingly or unknowingly, you constantly learn something or the other from each of them. What you need to be careful about is that you assimilate the good qualities from them and filter out the negative ones.
