Taking it to heart...

My blog doesn't usually get many comments, and so, I am always pleasantly surprised when I do get comments. Most of them are funny commentary and opinions. However, a comment on my recent post about arrogance struck me a bit deep. I definitely open myself up to commentary and invite it by having a blog in the first place. It is interesting to see what kind of post will provoke a comment and which kinds won't. This comment is obviously written by a friend and I do believe it is meant to be helpful. I suppose that is why it upsets me so much.

It's the first time I'm hearing it -- just like the case with my boss last week -- is not in a personal face-to-face meeting that is sincere in its intention to help me to see something about myself that I haven't been able to see. That would be the appropriate and meaningful way to approach such a topic and pulling me aside to have a sincere talk about the retreat and my response to it would have been the appropriate way to discuss this and offer an insight into my attitude and my relationships with my colleagues. When it comes in public -- the comment from my boss was in a group meeting and the blog comment is obviously public -- as a form of shaming me, it is hard to appreciate the commentary and take it sincerely.

Suggesting that I can't learn anything new by not participating is not why I didn't participate (and I guess haven't participated in the past). I love to learn and am always seeking opportunities to learn in the workplace. People are all different and learn in many different ways. Some people learn through repetition and some people learn from doing something that falls far out of the daily routine that makes them think about their daily work different. To suggest that I'm arrogant at work and don't believe I can learn anything new contradicts all that I do to try to learn from other people and from new opportunities on a daily basis. I think one way that the workplace fails many people like me is by not offering a variety of ways to learn new skills. And then, making the assumption that if one way doesn't work for me, I'm arrogant or unwilling to learn.

I guess one thing this experience is teaching me is how deeply I'm misunderstood in the workplace even by people who are my friends and actively try to understand me.