Work styles: Disruptive, collaborative, or both?

Pick your poison.  But why not do both in harmony?

Our work styles can be seen as disruptive (creating major change without regard to the current situation), collaborative (partnering deeply with peers to get things done), or a mixture of both.

Disruptive.  The disruptive style is cool and exciting.  It's about innovation and major change.  When I was in 8th Grade, when asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I told my teacher, Mrs. Moore, that I wanted to either be a heavy equipment operator or a brain surgeon.  She laughed and asked me if I realized as she did that those two fields were markedly different.  I did not and I responded, "I really want to change things dramatically."  I suppose both on macro (bulldozer) and micro (brain) scales.  This still holds true to me.

Collaborative.  The collaborative work style is a really critical, key and important one that I have had to learn over the years.  As an aggressive person who wants to change things drastically I've learned that I have to collaborate and partner with others to get things done.  Leading without followers is not possible.  Sometimes I have to take the back seat and let others drive.

Having both of these capabilities as a disruptive, innovative person and a collaborative person provides balance and synergy between two forces.  Both are good for change but together they provide a pace that is realistic,  sustainable, and powerful.

Front-office and back-office folks: and getting to trust

Creating the right perception is tricky and risky.
First you have to know and trust yourself.

Getting to trust with your customers and the public takes a long time and it might even be impossible at the aggregate.

Life and selling are processes; they're complicated.

In life we have to choose between those people we rely on and trust to deliver for us (the back-office people) and those people we choose to sell for us (our sales or front-office people).

I've stated in previous posts today that I need to grow my team of sales people and advocates.  I need personal advocates who can help me sell my value and what I offer.  I also need people to help me deliver what I can deliver, but I think I need fewer of these people.

In all, I need to trust myself before I need to trust others.  But if I can get to a place where I trust myself then I can surely get to a place where I can trust others and hopefully one where others will also trust and advocate me.