What we do to get respect and attention in this business is directly related to beliefs we may have formed early in our work careers. These are superstitious behaviors we have come to believe in that need to be shelved for us to move forward and up in this competitive industry.
Taking full responsibility:
When being assigned a job, it doesn’t mean that you are the only person who can or should do it. It means that you are the one responsible for making it happen. SURE, it looks awesome to your bosses if you “do it alone.” You’ll get bragging rights and everyone will say you’re a rock star. Like many of us in Production, you have learned that if you need it done, and you need it done NOW, you have to do it yourself! –But, there will ALWAYS be something that needs to get done, and why do it all alone when you can delegate? Being able to delegate parts of a project to others shows that you can “manage a project.” It also helps you to form relationships with others who are able to provide you wish assistance. Building trust with your co-workers and trusting other people do their jobs is extremely important in Production. If you do it all alone you are not forming relationships. And in this business, relationships are everything!
To need to be liked, or to need not to be liked, that is the question:
I personally believe that likability is a key factor to success in this industry. People get hired, fired, promoted, demoted based on how likable they are. If you’re a freelancer, you may or may not be hired for a job ever again. The desire to be liked is strongly ingrained in all of us from a very young age. I’m sure I speak for many of us when I say that it takes time and effort to learn to understand the difference between being liked and being respected. If you’re only concern is being liked in the workplace, you will most likely miss the opportunity to be respected in the workplace. Conversely, if you’re only concern is to be respected and you don’t care about being liked, you may lose the support of your crew and the people you need to be on your side. In this business the people who are both liked AND respected are the most successful in Production. Again, this business is about investing and building relationships. Remember that when you need a relationship right then and there (because in Production everything needs to be done NOW), if you haven’t built that relationship, it’s already too late.
Britt Coleman