Year End Review Week 3: Colleagues

Welcome to week 3 of your Year End Review.  In case you missed week 1, Clients, you can access that blog post here.  And week 2, Projects, can be accessed here.  

 I’ve created a really fun (and free!) workbook to guide you through this year end review process.  You can CLICK HERE  to download your Year End Review Workbook. 

Okay, so this week we’re going to focus on our Colleagues. 

Whether you are a solo-preneur or have a team, you have colleagues.  That's because by colleagues I mean all the professionals you work with inside and outside of your company to get your jobs done.  They include general contractors, architects, drafters, engineers, etc.  

We review our colleagues from the year so we can get perspective on who was a good fit for us and what types of colleagues we want to work with more in the future.  Who would you clone if you could? 

So often we just work with whatever colleagues show up for us, and run around trying to do our best without ever stopping to reflect on if they are even the type of colleague we should be working with at all. 

Part of taking charge in our businesses is identifying the people/types of people who we want to work with and cultivating referral relationships with them.  Are the colleagues you worked with this year a good personality and professional fit for you?  Do they do the type of work you want to do?  Is their level of professionalism and organization a good fit for you?  Do they work with clients who are a good fit for you?  Are they contributing to good portfolio projects for you?  Do you enjoy working with them?  Do they create a pleasant and respectful working environment?  Do they present the right image to your clients?  Do you feel good about referring them to your clients?

Ignore your best judgment at your own peril - bad fit-colleagues can  make our working lives miserable, and they’re probably people we’re not going to want referrals from, so they’re also a dead end, instead of a future referral source. 

Just because someone does good work not mean they're a great fit for you.  Only you can know that. And discovering that means slowing down and reflecting on your past colleagues and how and they were or were not a good fit for you.  

I have so much to say about how important it is to work with good-fit colleagues that I don’t even know where to begin. 😂  First of all I want to say that you have more power to decide who you will and won’t work with than you think.  I used to think that I just had to work with whatever professionals came along and I didn’t have any choice.  I’d contort myself to try and get along with everyone, even the worst jerks, and it took an enormous toll on my energy, productivity and enjoyment of my work.  When I finally learned to set boundaries and only work with people who are a good fit for me (professional, respectful), everything changed.  I discovered I had more power than I thought.  

 Here’s a story to illustrate what I mean.   

Although GC’s can have a reputation for being jerks (at least in the design community, lol!), my experience has been that most are professional, respectful and a joy to work with.  Not all of them, however!  I was hired on a kitchen design project and the client told me they already had a contractor they planned on using.  I emailed him our design roadmap for the project  (schedule for our design process) and told him I was looking forward to talking with him about the project to get on the same page about the scheulde, scope of work, etc.  

Shortly after, he called me and yelled my ear off with, “I don’t know who you think you are trying to tell me how to do my job!  I have this job under control, I don’t need you!” and on and on.  I was completely shocked and confused.  

As I tried to diffuse the situation and understand why this guy was so angry at me I started to put it together that he didn’t like working with designers and wanted to handle that part himself.  Okaaaay.   I got off the phone shaking and in tears and had some thinking to do. 

My first instinct was to do what I had always done - suck it up, be professional and get along.  But I knew (from experience!) that if I stayed on this job I would dread every phone call and email from this guy - my fight or flight response would be constantly triggered and this job would be a living hell for me.  It would be incredibly draining and stressful.  

Then I had an aha moment.  Just because I could get along with this guy didn’t mean I had to.  I’m self-employed for goodness sakes - I could set myself free - recognize that this was not a good fit for me and move on. 

So I decided to have my own back (for once!) and emailed the client a professional and concise email explaining that the fit with the GC was not a good one for me and that I would not be able to do their project after all.  I did not blame or accuse.  I didn’t need to.  I merely needed to state that he was not a good fit for me and the type of respectful communication I required on a project team.  

I walked away feeling free and so, so relieved.  And there is a happy ending to this story.  The client thanked me for my professionalism and ended up firing the GC and asking me who I would recommend instead.  I connected them with a kind, respectful contractor who is a joy to work with. I got to do the project after all, and with a right-fit contractor. It made the project so enjoyable for me and the clients.  

None of this would have happened without a bit of reflection on my part.  Taking the time to think about the various colleagues I’ve worked with and pondering who is and is not a good fit for me and why has given me much more confidence in seeking out good-fit colleagues.  And, from time to time, putting my foot down and moving on when I’m faced with a bad-fit situation.  Doing this has made all the difference in my overall happiness at work.  I just want to work with good people, as I’m sure you do as well!  

 Okay, so let’s begin this week’s journaling exercise to determine your best-fit colleagues!

 CLICK HERE to Download your free Year End Review Workbook.

Journaling exercise: Colleagues

 Find a quiet time when you will not be distracted and you can concentrate.  Pull out a journal or notebook and write out your responses to the following prompts:

1. List out all of your colleagues from the past year (or you can go back as far as you want!)
2. Note what company they work for
3. Rate them in order from most to least favorite

Now Answer these questions:

1. My favorite colleagues I wish I could clone this year were:
2. How did they find me?
3. They were my favorite because:
4. They were a good fit for my personality/services because:
5. Describe them (company, personality, services, organization, etc):
6. My least favorite colleagues I never want to work with again were:
7. How did they find me?
8. They were my least favorite because:
9. They were a bad fit for my personality/services because:
10. Describe them (company, personality, services, organization, etc):
11. Reflecting on my most and least favorite colleagues from the year, in the future I'd like to work with this type of professional:
12. Reflecting on my most and least favorite colleagues, here's where I'd like to put my networking energy next year:
13. Ideas for new skills, certifications, continuing education or upleveled services I can provide to make it a no-brainer for these colleagues to want to work with me:
14. How it feels to work with my ideal colleague:

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I hope this exercise is helpful for you in identifying who you want to work with in the coming year! 

By the way, it usually isn’t as dramatic as the story I related above.  Most often this exercise reveals more subtle, yet important, information. 

There may be a contractor you really like, but they’re just not doing the types of projects you want to do any more, or the clients they tend to attract are not a good fit for you.  It doesn’t mean you need to have some dramatic break-up, but it may mean you put more of your energy in cultivating relationships with other contractors who are doing work that’s more aligned with your goals. 

This exercise can help shed light on these sometimes subtle, yet important, distinctions that can make all the difference in creating a business that’s truly aligned with your ideal vision.  

 So give it a try and I’d love to hear from you on Insta how it goes for you.  You can find me @designersanity.  

Don’t forget to CLICK HERE to download your free Year End Review Workbook. 

 It has all the questions in one place to keep you focused.  Having the workbook completed will be a great record of your thoughts to refer back to and keep them top of mind in the coming year, not to mention a great record to look back on of your progress in future years!  

 Next week our year end review process will be focusing on work/life balance.  I’ll see you then!