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Subject:Re: Plays well with others From:anon <unknownidca -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 29 Mar 2001 13:35:15 -0800 (PST)
There have been some good suggestions about how to
improve the participation and performance of writers
on a writing team. However, some of the
generalizations about character and abilities that are
being bandied about are truly disheartening.
Technical writing is a collaborative activity, which
we all know. But who exactly are your writers
collaborating with? Other writers? Or SMEs?
I've worked with some 'grumpy' writers who had
marvellous relationships with SMEs and produced high
quality documents. In the small writing department
they could really stir the pot. In the larger
engineering department, they were excellent team
players. In this situation, the question then becomes
"Who cares if they are grumpy to me, as long as
they're creating good docs and collaborating well with
the other 234 people working at the company?"
Of course, I'm exaggerating to illustrate my point.
Courtesy and respect should always be present in a
writing team. But don't overlook a writer's abilities
just because they aren't effusive, bubbly, or cheerful
by nature.
There is no way to build a perfectly harmonious
writing team, unless it involves drugs and social
reprogramming. What managers need to build are
tolerant teams. A tolerant team is composed of
individuals, all of whom have faults, but who are
capable of the right amount of give and take necessary
to complete a project on spec and on time, without
bloodshed.
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